Not so daily Diva

XM Radio - STOP CALLING ME!

2009-05-18T13:54:00.015-04:00

Seriously are you freaking kidding me? stop calling me XM Radio!!!!! If I want your service I will subscribe, if I don't - I won't. Calling me every day for weeks and weeks on end will not make me subscribe. In fact, by calling me this frequently you are actually making me HATE you and not want your service! I feel harassed!

I am on the do not call registry and don't expect telemarketer calls to begin with. But here's the dilemma: I bought a car 3 months ago and with it came a free trial of XM Radio. I didn't technically 'subscribe', or give them any information, or "opt-in" to getting calls from them. Perhaps my dealer supplied them with my phone number and home address (they are also sending me stuff in the mail) which I'm guessing they needed to turn the service on, but I did not provide that directly to them.

Now my trial is about to expire and they have been calling me 1-3 times a day at all hours of the day and night for about 7 weeks (maybe longer). Enough already! I want to file a complaint with the Do Not Call Registry, but apparently they need to violate the following things to have a valid complaint:

The telemarketer calls before 8 AM or after 9 PM; OR

The telemarketer leaves a message, but fails to leave a phone number that you can call to sign up for their company specific do-not-call list; OR

You receive a telemarketing call from a company that you have previously requested not call you; OR

The telemarketing firm fails to identify itself; OR

You receive a pre-recorded commercial message from someone with whom you do not have an established business relationship and to whom you have not given permission to call you.

Conveniently they call exactly within the "legal" hours. But seriously 8PM is still pretty late to be calling my house unless I know you!

They never leave a message, and according to their website I'm not ALLOWED to opt-out of phone calls. WTF??!!!! Technically I NEVER subscribed - it was a free trial that came with the car. It's not like I can shut that off.

XM's phone policy:

Specifically, by registering on the Site, or by subscribing to the SIRIUS XM Service and providing your telephone number, you agree that this action constitutes a purchase, inquiry and/or application for purposes of telemarketing laws. Regardless of the fact that your telephone and/or cell number may be listed with the Federal Do-Not-Call Registry, or your local State Do-Not-Call list, you expressly consent to receive future information about products and services from us, and in, that regard, you hereby consent to our contacting you pursuant to the business relationship established using the information you provided to us. This means we may contact you, in person or by recorded message, by e-mail, phone and/or cell number (including use of automated dialing equipment), text (SMS) message, or any other means of communication that your wireless or other telecommunications device may be capable of receiving (e.g. video etc.), except as may be prohibited by law. (Please note that as of September 1, 2009, we will not contact you by the use of a prerecorded telephone message unless we have your prior express consent of a higher quality standard, as required by Federal law.)

I have yet to answer the phone because according to posts I've read online they are extremely aggressive with trying to get people to sign up, won't let you opt-out etc. I have enough stress, arguments, and irritation in my life - I'm not picking up the phone to argue with them too.

Here's a quick log of phone calls from my iphone history for the last WEEK (my phone only stores 1 week of call history):

Tuesday, May 12th: 9:22 am
Tuesday, May 12th: 2:29 pm
Tuesday, May 12th: 8:02 pm

Wednesday, May 13th: 1:51 pm
Wednesday, May 13th: 8:38 pm

Thursday, May 14th: 1:27 pm
Thursday, May 14th: 7:08 pm

Friday, May 15th: 1:10 pm

Saturday, May 16th: 11:32 am

Sunday, May 17th 3:25 pm

Monday, May 18th: 1:40 pm
Monday, May 18th: 6:49pm

Tuesday, May 19th: 6:43pm

Wednesday, May 20th: 2:53pm
Wednesday, May 20th: 8:38pm

Are you kidding me? How is this not harassment? Who the f**k opts-into this? Where are my rights? I mean it's one thing to call a person that uses your service, it's quite another to call them over and over and over for weeks.

And while I am bitching about telemarketing calls, I should also mention I used Stanley Steemer once in my life a year ago to clean a rug when I moved out of my apartment.

I was unhappy with the service because:

A: they under-quoted me by $175 - for a 1 BR apt (2 rooms), but when they got to the apt they "claimed" each section was a "room" so I got charged for a 4 room apt. Trust me this place was about 600 sq ft it was NOT 4 rooms! The previous tenant had used a different cleaner (and provided me their receipt when I moved in - in case I wanted to use them when I moved out), but I went with Stanley because they quoted me $50 less than the other cleaners had charged the previous tenant. What a waste - instead of saving $50, I ended up spending $125 more! ARGH

B: I scheduled them for 9am and they showed up at 3:30 pm. That would be 6.5 hours late while and I was left sitting there waiting in an empty apartment!!!

C: When I called several times trying to find out where they were/when they were coming and to complain about my 6.5 hour wait they acted like it was not a problem why was I annoyed, they were "busy" that day, and assured me they were "on the way". They were "on the way" at 10:30 am when I called the first time. Where were they driving from, Maryland?

D: Had that not been the last day I had my apt & was required to clean the rugs I would have refused them entry and called another service.

Now they also call me almost daily probably trying to get me to use their service again. I didn't think using their service once to clean a rug now allowed them to call me weekly for months? Secondly, I have all hardwood floors in my house. I don't have any rugs for them to freaking clean. And thirdly, I will never, ever, ever use their "service" again.

I should also mention that neither company has actually left a voice mail - I found out who was behind the numbers by researching online and found hundreds of complaints from other people about these exact phone numbers. A quick google search brought up 111 results for XM, and 241 for Stanley - clearly people are NOT happy and are being harassed by these companies for their business. 800Notes turns out to be a pretty helpful site.

XM Radio: 877 224-8720
Stanely Steemer: 888 283-9087

My next step will be to see if I can get AT&T to block those numbers for me because I am sick of getting these calls every day several times a day.

Dear XM:

2009-02-25T11:21:00.005-05:00

I recently purchased a vehicle that came with XM Radio free for 90s days. I like the idea of commercial free music - I am not interested in Talk Radio, or Howard Stern or MLB so I am only interested in the music part.

Thing is - now that you merged with Sirius you've gotten rid of all your cool music channels and just took on the Sirius channels - which to me are sub par. XM Cafe was excellent - now it's the spectrum and I turned it on today to hear a Bob Marley song off the Legend album - um ya... that album is practically handed out at college orientation - that isn't a "deep track". I want songs I don't know yet, not the same old bullshit I can listen to for free on 93.7 or some similar channel.

So far the only music channels I've found worthwhile are: Area (for some club music), 1st Wave (80s alt rock), and XMU (Indie College Radio). But honestly XMU isn't any better than WERS 88.9 Emerson college's radio station that has been going strong and FREE for 60 years! In fact 88.9 is such a great station I listen to it exclusively M-F during my commute. And 1st Wave is basically my cd collection from the 1980s - I haven't heard a song I don't already own on that station.

If you are going to get me to pay $10 a month for commercial free music I want to hear GREAT music that I haven't heard before. I don't want to hear top 40 pop that is played EVERYWHERE for free already! Or the same alt rock track every free 'alt rock' station is playing.

I know satellite radio is in trouble - I believe the way to get and keep paying subscribers is to offer channels that really are playing deep tracks, not the stuff that is already played on free stations. Otherwise people like me are going to stick to their ipods and commercial free college stations like 88.9.

I don't think so...

2009-02-23T08:45:00.003-05:00

What the hell is this new thing, I mean jacket from Marc Jacobs?

Up close it looks like jean corduroy in a horrible light wash (not really a fan of light washed denim) and what is up with all the patches and random buttons? For almost $400 I want something that doesn't look like I bought it vintage at the thrift store.

Been on hiatus

2009-02-23T08:33:00.003-05:00

The last month has been a tough one and I have sadly neglected my blog :(

Between work and the passing of my grandmother (my last living my grandparent) it's been a busy and an all around difficult month.

With spring rapidly (I HOPE) approaching - I am getting excited for that spring footwear again and need to figure out what the hell I am going to wear this summer!

Finally a car!

2009-02-23T08:25:00.004-05:00

After 2 months of aggravation and negotiation - last Tuesday I finally purchased a car!

I ended up buying a TSX from Bernardi Acura in Brighton. They definitely negotiated quite a bit and overall I felt my buying experience was good (as good as it can be arguing over the price of a car). But now I have my car and I love it! The great thing about Acuras is that they have 2 packages: Base or Tech. It's that simple. I got the tech package and it's fantastic! Navigation system - that really works well, back-up camera, sunroof, voice recognition, bluetooth, XM radio, heated leather seats, and great ipod integration. Initially I had wanted an RDX, but at 17 MPG and no ipod integration - I changed my mind to the TSX which is also super fun to drive since it's a manual 6 speed.

And the Gov. just passed a new law trying to get car sales going again that any car under 45k is eligible for a tax break.

It was a long and painful process, but I ended up with a car I love!

We are so lucky

2009-01-20T16:13:00.003-05:00

To witness this kind of history. I am so grateful to be alive today.

Never in my life have I watched a president get inaugurated into office (which probably isn't a good thing, but it is what it is). Today I have been either live streaming video at work, listening to it on the radio, or watching in on tv.

Bye bye Bush - don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out!

Another day, another vague dealer email

2009-01-19T15:37:00.004-05:00

Perhaps I've become obsessed with my car buying, but I am determined to get a decent deal and a straight answer. Why are these things so hard? I am a really honest person, I'm going to say it like it is (and in the spirit of honesty sometimes I am just too honest).

One place emailed me back with a kind of reasonable price, with a - 'you must call us back within 72 hours to get this "great price"'. So I started looking at it - no where in their offer do they mention what color the car is (I was specific & had options) or what options are part of the car. There is no way I am going to agree on an offer that doesn't actually mention anything else except that it's a 2009 Murano. It's probably the base model, otherwise why wouldn't they specify that?

Another place wrote me with this:

I just wanted to follow up with in regards to the 2009 Nissan Murano. I have not heard from you and I wanted to know if you had any questions or needed further information on inventory or current specials and prices? I would like to schedule a meeting with you to discuss further details and a test drive. Please call me at your earliest convenience so that I may better assist you.

The reason you haven't heard from me is because
A: I said I wanted to do this transaction online as much as possible,
B: I have already test driven the car twice. I do not need to test drive yet again
C: I am not interested in more appointments that waste HOURS and HOURS of my day so I can argue with them about a price - either you can or cannot give me the price I am looking for.

And I realize not every dealer is willing to give me the price I want with the options I want - that is ok. Just say so. Don't waste my time or yours! Giving me the run around in vague emails just makes me more annoyed, and less likely I will do business with you. Trapping me in the dealership just infuriates me more- that technique doesn't work on me. Maybe it works on others, but not me. The more I sit there. the angrier I get and stubborn I become to NOT buy the car!

Saga of the car

2009-01-12T13:40:00.002-05:00

I am getting really stubborn about this whole car buying thing, but I just really wish one of these dealers would READ my email and reply with an honest answer.

Why is that so hard?

This is my letter of what I am asking for:

I’ve already driven the Murano SL with AWD and I intend to purchase, as soon as possible, a Nissan Murano SL in Platinum Graphite Metallic.
I am soliciting multiple Nissan dealers for the best offer, but I will immediately agree to purchase under the terms described below.
If you cannot meet these terms, please send your best offer, as I will consider all offers if no dealer can meet the following proposal:

Car: Nissan Murano SL with AWD
Options: Premium Package, Technology Package, Navigation / ipod hookup, Moonroof, Leather Package
Color: Platinum Graphite Metallic (or Brilliant Silver Metallic if platinum graphite metallic is unavailable) with Black Leather interior
Price: $30,000
Financing: 60 months at 2.9 percent

I would prefer a response by email, but I can also be reached by phone at xxxxxxxxxx. I would like to finalize all paperwork by email/fax (subject, of course, to final inspection of the vehicle at delivery).

Thank You,

I know I am going slightly below invoice, but I know my trade-in is valuable and they will definitely make money on it (only 52,000 miles on an '02 Toyota) and that the economy is bad. I would consider other reasonable offers, but I'm not paying 3k over invoice (which has been a few of the offers).

More responses that don't answer my question and try to get me to come into the dealer. I am not going into 1 more dealership wasting another 3-4 hours negotiating. Plus isn't this cheaper for them anyway? If we do this all via email/fax they NEVER have to deal with me except to give me the keys and take my money!!!!!

One response:

Just a follow up to see if you reconsidered the deal presented to you when you visited us last. Again if you are still in the market or if there are any other questions I can answer please give me a call.

UM no I did not reconsider paying $3,000 over invoice. I will never reconsider that. Ever. Not in this LIFETIME.

Another response to the email I sent posted above:

I just wanted to let you know that I am still very interested and motivated to earn your business. I am committed to providing you with exceptional service.

I realize that there are lots of dealerships that are also competing for your business, but I am at least hoping to get an opportunity to compete.

Save the following INTERNET PRICING CODE: it entitles you to additional savings because I have been communicating with you. If you decide to pop-in, be sure to let them know that you have it!

Call me and I will be happy to schedule a convenient time for you to come down.

What part of I don't want to come into your dealership did they miss? And I love how there is absolutely no commitment or mention of price.

ARGH!!!

I HATE ALL CAR DEALERSHIPS!

Favorite Songs of 2008

2009-01-10T19:58:00.004-05:00

My long overdue post about my favorite songs from 2008, in no particular order.

You don't know me - Ben Folds with Regina Spektor
Cologne - Ben Folds (really a beautiful and sad song)
Hiroshima - Ben Folds
The Frown Song - Ben Folds
Bitch Went Nuts - Ben Folds
Brainwascht - Ben Folds
Eggington - Ben Folds
Right as rain - Adele
Hometown Glory - Adele
Ballantines - Aimee Mann
Rocky took a lover - Bell X1
Flame - Bell X1
Eve, the apple of my eye - Bell X1
Natalie - Bell X1
Stupid Now - Bob Mould
Who Needs to Dream - Bob Mould
Again and Again - Bob Mould
Old highs new lows - Bob Mould
The silence between us - Bob Mould
Very Temporary - Bob Mould
Flume - Bon Iver
Skinny Love- Bon Iver
For Emma - Bon Iver
Viva la Vida - Coldplay
Lost - Coldplay
The World the people together (come on) - Dandy Warhols
Mission Control - Dandy Warhols
Bixby Canyon Bridge - Death Cab for Cutie
I will possess your heart - Death Cab for Cutie
No sunlight - Death Cab for Cutie
Cath... - Death Cab for Cutie
Long Division - Death Cab for Cutie
Mercy - Duffy
No Hiding Place - Elvis Costello
American Gangster Time - Elvis Costello
My Three Sons - Elvis Costello
Love Complete - The Epochs
White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes
Ragged Wood - Fleet Foxes
Quiet Houses - Fleet Foxes
Your Protector - Fleet Foxes
Blue Ridge Mountains - Fleet Foxes
Be OK - Ingrid Michaelson
Over the Rainbow - Ingrid Michaelson
Keep Breathing - Ingrid Michaelson
Can't help falling in love - Ingrid Michaelson
This Lonely Love - Juliana Hatfield
I'm that chick - Mariah Carey. Yes I said it and I'm not embarrassed it's a fun song!
Evil Urges - My Morning Jacket
Touch me and I'm going to scream pt. 1 and 2 - My morning jacket
I'm Amazed - My morning Jacket
Sec Walkin - My morning Jacket
Bag it Up - Oasis
The shock of the lightning - Oasis
I'm Outta time - Oasis
The girl you lost to cocaine - Sia
Thinkin Bout Cops - Slightly Stoopid
Please just take these photos from my hands - snow patrol
I decided - Solange
Love is Noise - the Verve
Judas - the Verve
Rather Be - the Verve
Pork and Beans - Weezer
Let's Dance to Joy Division - The Wombats
Rainy Day Blues - Willie Nelson & Wynton Marsalis
I'm not gonna teach your boyfriend how to dance with you - Black Kids
L.E.S Artistes - Santogold
Black & Gold - Sam Sparro
Yeah Yeah - Brian Jonestown Massacre
Chip of a Star - Chatham County Line
Catch - Devics
Losing Me - Diego
Pony (it's ok) - Erin McCarley
Wisdom - Gran Ronde
Another Day - Jamie Lidell
Walking on Air - Kerli

Anything I missed out on in 2008 that I should add to my playlist?

Car Buying Part 2.. or 3

2009-01-10T18:55:00.004-05:00

I get more annoyed as this process goes on. Why is it really this difficult to get a straight answer and buy a car? WHY?

I don't think there is anything more annoying or difficult to buy than a car.

I recently got this response to my request about an RDX:

The one thing that no Acura dealership can promise you right now is any type of special financing as the rebates combined with the special financing ended Monday. If you're willing to pay a little more for the RDX, you are qualified to get the special financing. Otherwise, we can get you an awesome price, but your financing will be dependent on the best we can find in the market today (which is normally the best available as we have up to 20 banks at any given time fighting to earn our business!).

Which one of those two options are the better choice for you? Let me know so that way I can get you the best information and price to your financing option as possible!

Why the hell would I have to pay MORE to get good financing. On WHAT PLANET is that acceptable?

Here's my reply to the most recent bullshit:

Currently Acura’s website is listing the financing as follows:

Special AHFC A.P.R. financing available on all new 2009 RDX models. 0.90% APR financing for 24-36 months or 2.90% APR financing for 37-60 months available to customers who qualify for the AHFC Super Preferred credit tier. Example for 2009 RDX: 0.90% for 36 months financing at $28.16 a month for every $1,000.00 financed. Dealers set actual vehicle sales prices. See participating dealers for details. For well qualified buyers. Not all buyers may qualify. Higher rates apply for buyers with lower credit ratings.

Offer valid 1/6/2009 through 2/2/2009, on new and unregistered 2009 RDX Models and only on approved credit by Honda Financial Services through participating dealers. Honda Financial Services' standard credit criteria apply. Example for 2009 RDX: 0.90% for 36 months financing at $28.16 a month for every $1,000.00 financed. See dealer for details. Dealers set actual prices. Limited time only.

I have a credit score of 786 which would make me a well qualified buyer, so I’m not understanding why I would not be able to get the special financing?

Can anyone explain to me why one would have to pay MORE for a car to get special financing? Or how when the website clearly lists the financing valid until Feb 2 that a dealer could say it ended on Monday?

Car Buying

2009-01-10T09:27:00.004-05:00

Why does buying a car (which should be exciting and fun) turn into something almost as unpleasant as a root canal?

I realize car dealerships need to make money, but at the same time I also think they shouldn't constantly try to rip people off while doing it. No other purchase is so frustrating. For example: let's say I want a pair of jeans and I do a little research on the Bloomingdale's website before I go to the store to see what styles they have etc. When I get to the store they may or may not have the same pairs in stock, but they aren't suddenly $200 more than the website had them for - it's the same freaking price!

But with car buying apparently even if you've agreed to a price via email - you get into the store and it's like ohhhh yeaaaah well that wasn't REALLY the real price. Then what the fuck was it? Don't waste 3+ hours of my time!

I made it CLEAR with the email I sent to several dealers which is as follows:

I intend to purchase, as soon as possible, a Nissan Murano SL in Platinum Graphite Metallic. I am soliciting multiple Nissan dealers for the best offer, but I will immediately agree to purchase under the terms described below. If you cannot meet these terms, please send your best offer, as I will consider all offers if no dealer can meet the following proposal:

Car: Nissan Murano SL with AWD
Options: Premium Package, Technology Package, Navigation / ipod hookup, Moonroof, Leather Package
Color: Platinum Graphite Metallic (or Brilliant Silver Metallic if platinum graphite metallic is unavailable) with Black Leather interior
Price: $30,000
Financing: 60 months at 2.9 percent (your website isn’t updated with the new financing rates)

I would prefer a response by email, but I can also be reached by phone at xxxxxxxxxx. I would like to finalize all paperwork by email/fax (subject, of course, to final inspection of the vehicle at delivery).

Thank you,

I think that is pretty clear. I am not messing around. I already test drove the car, I have already looked at all the options and features. I am ready to buy. They don't have to do anything but agree to those terms (or make another offer) and I would agree, sign papers and come in and pick the vehicle up.

Sure I realize I am asking for less than invoice - I am looking for a deal in this bad economy. Car sales were down 46% in December - so I hope to take advantage of that.

I also know my boyfriend's brother has bought his last 3 cars completely via email/fax - so it CAN be done!

But instead here's a sampling of the responses I get (I'm also considering the RDX):

I wanted to see if you were available this weekend to come in for a test drive? I also have a couple of interesteding pre-owned and Acura Certified RDX's available now! Let me know if you are still considering.

REALLY??

First: I am not interested in a test drive. I've driven it. I'm all set.

Second: no mention of price. Seriously I am not fucking around. I am not coming in there and arguing over price for 3 hours while they trap you in the store. AND BTW - the fastest way to get me to NOT do something is to piss me off about it - like bait and switch me and get me in there only to raise the price by 6k from what I offer and LIE to me that - that is "invoice" I KNOW it's not. I have extensive information from Edmunds, Cars.com, Consumer Reports, and Car and Driver. I am really not that stupid to show up without my research!

Third: I am not interested in a PRE owned vehicle- did I say that I was?

Fourth: if you want my business learn how to use the spell check before sending that email.

Here's another gem:

Thanks for giving us an opportunity to serve you! However, we have not been able to reach you. Could you please contact us, at your earliest convenience, so we can better assist you.

These people did not call me so I don't know how they "tried to reach me" but I am not calling back and wasting time on the phone while they try to convince me to come in. This is the offer take it or leave it, but don't waste my time (or yours)!!

And yet another:

Thank you for your inquiry in the 2009 Nissan Murano. I have great availability on what you are looking for at competitive prices and a range of colors and trims for your convenience. I would like to provide more information on our inventory along with current prices, any incentives, and then schedule an inventory showing and discuss the final detail as soon as you get the chance. Please call me at your earliest convenience so that I may better assist you.

I'm not sure I could have made it any clearer. I am not looking for vague answers. And I am not wasting one more minute going down to dealers so they can lie to me about the invoice price.

And lastly here may be my favorite back and forth with IRA Nissan:

Your offer is not unrealistic, however we need to see your trade in person before we can provide a definate answer

What time today can you come in so we can see your Solara in person and give you an exact value?

I then wrote back and said I want to be clear on the price and other details because I am serious about the price I want to pay, and I don't want to waste your time or my time.

The response:

We have a large selection of Muranos available and a number of which meet your criteria
I entered all the information you and I discussed into our system. Your VIP number is below. When you arrive, ask the receptionist directly for a sales manager and give him this number.

I wrote back a 3rd time to clarify EXACTLY what I wanted and for the price of $30,000. I also told them I had a trade in.

The reponse:

It is not unreasonable, however you would have to meet with my sales manager
What time today should we expect you?

I finally go in- thinking this seems good. Mistake.

They tried to sell me the car for $34,000 WITH my trade in!! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!! The INVOICE is less than that AND I know the kelley blue book rating for my car is $5500. They "claimed" they were taking $2k off the cost of the car and give me $4k for my car. They must have thought I was an idiot. I refused. Showed them our emails because they were trying to deny I made that clear up front. Oh I made it clear. Once I showed proof of the email they said "perhaps you can't afford this car and should buy an altima. REALLY? I came in for a murano and you are now trying to sell me an altima. Way to make sure I NEVER do business with you. I don't know if these techiques work on other people, but they don't work on me!

Car Titles

2008-12-29T10:16:00.003-05:00

I have not owned many cars in my life - 2 to be exact. Each one I owned for 6-7 years. So I'm not that familiar with titles and all that crap.

My first car - I took out a loan, paid it and got my title when it was paid from Toyota Financial Services. My second car I took out a loan and also paid it back in September of '06. I got a letter from Toyota saying 'Congratulations! Your account is now paid in full'. Great.. only thing is - they never sent me the title!

I have called them several times over the past 2.5 years and they say oh yes we'll send that out right away and continue not to. I am currently on hold with them (for about 15 minutes and counting) trying to once again get them to send me the title.

Anyone ever had this happen to them? I heard I can go to the registry and get a duplicate made for $150 but I refuse to pay for something my financing company should have sent me for free 2 years ago and that I've repeatedly called them and asked for (out of principle)!!! Why can NOTHING ever be done right? Why can nothing ever be easy? It apparently takes 60-90 days to mail the damn thing out too - which doesn't much help me if I'm trying to buy a car this week.

New Car?

2008-12-28T18:04:00.004-05:00

I'm debating taking advantage of the down economy to buy a new car.

It makes me a little nervous to buy a new car because I have no idea what will happen in this insane economy, but I am so sick of my car. Why? The doors are so god damned heavy and they bounce back closed every time I open them on my ankles! I have to kick out my leg to keep the friggin thing open. it SUCKS! I seriously cannot stress enough how much I HATE the door on my car. The handles also are not right for the door (the fixed that the later models) - they are too small/slippery and I jam my fingers all the time. I've had the car 6 years (a solara) since it was new and I'm just done with that door. I like Toyotas - that's all I've ever owned and they are reliable and overall great cars, but I am ready for a change. And a door that doesn't attack me when I try to get out of the car.

I've been debating several cars and I'm having trouble narrowing down a decision:

Toyota Rav 4 - which has mostly been ruled out (I hate the back tire, and the sport version with no tire makes me nervous with the run flat tires.

Honda CRV - not bad, and can take turns WAY better than my solara...

Nissan Murano - pretty fun to drive and had everything.. but that comes with a hefty price tag too.. I don't think I can realistically afford this car.

Acura RDX - my boyfriend suggested I try this car and I have to admit I liked it a lot. So much I think I may get it... BUT then while looking at/test driving the RDX I wanted to take the TSX out for a spin (I've always really liked them) and it comes in a 6 speed manual transmission. WOW was it fun to drive!!! Now that has me all screwed up. Do I get the TSX or the RDX? I had wanted a change from a car - to be higher up and have all wheel drive, but I do really love to drive standards. I cannot decide. I read all the consumer reports and Car and Driver reviews (mixed, but overall people like the TSX more) and I still can't make a decision.

Course the decision may end up being made for me - I need to get a significant discount to afford the cars - which may or may not happen. I am hoping that the dealers are hurting for business and willing to take my offer. If not, I may not be getting anything - or having to set my expectations much lower.

So my question is: anyone drive one of these cars? Do you love it? Hate it? Have any good tips about any of the models?

tough season

2008-12-28T18:01:00.002-05:00

to be a Pats fan. :(

We go 11-5 yet may still not make the playoffs. The way the Jets and Jacksonville are playing looks like our season does not have much hope of continuing. How many more plays can the Jets blow in this game? UGH a very hard season to be a pats fan.

Classic Holiday Movies

2008-12-23T09:35:00.003-05:00

I'm one of those people that every holiday season takes out all my favorite xmas movies and watches them. I love this. It gets me in the holiday spirit and who doesn't love to watch one of their favorite movies again?

My list of favorites include:
Frosty the Snowman
The Year Without a Santa Claus
Bishop's Wife (the original with Cary Grant, not the remake with Whitney)
Miracle on 34th Street
It's a Wonderful Life
Love Actually *
A Christmas Story
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Muppet Christmas
Charlie Brown Christmas
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Christmas Vacation

* one of the best movies ever - this is a MUST watch every year!

I don't watch all of them every year, but definitely many of them. However, my boyfriend seems to think "we've already seen this, why would you watch it again" and basically makes fun of the movie the entire way through so as not to allow me to enjoy it either. He thinks it's hilarious to get me annoyed throughout the film. But seriously who watches a movie they like once? He doesn't do that either!! He's seen Napolean Dynamite 20 times at least! And how can one really hate all Christmas movies? The only one I can get him to watch without complaint is A Christmas Story (it has a bb gun, shooting your eye out, fights, a horrible cheap lamp women hate and men love... you know all the stuff guys like). I just want one holiday movie without 'hilarious' commentary...

Top 10 Albums of 2008

2008-12-15T13:30:00.010-05:00

It's all subjective... but here's my list:

1: Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes
2: Ben Folds - Way to Normal
3: The Verve - Fourth
4: Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs
5: Elvis Costello - Momofuku
6: My Morning Jacket - Evil Urges
7: Bob Mould - District Line
8: BellX1 - Flock
9: Aimee Mann - @#25&! Smilers
10: Bon Iver - For Emmma, Forever Ago

Other good albums that don't quite make my top ten, but are worth mentioning:
Adele - 19
Beck - Modern Guilt
Coldplay - Viva la Vida
Dandy Warhols - Earth to the Dandy Warhols
Duffy - Rockferry
Ingrid Michaelson - Be OK
Oasis - Dig Out Your Soul
Sia - Some People Have Real Problems
Weezer - The Red Album

Fun was never a requirement

2008-12-15T12:10:00.004-05:00

Once in a life before Mzinga I heard those exact words in a meeting when I asked why the user interface and experience of an application was so boring and uninspired. I was told this is a real business application – fun was never a requirement.

Then I wondered – why did people feel fun and work had to be mutually exclusive? They don't have to be! Having some fun at work doesn't make people less productive; in fact, I would argue it does just the opposite. To me great user experiences are: Fun, Simple, Easy and Relevant.

Several years ago I designed the UI to a web application – I had used color (not like a circus, but I had a liberal use of color) and icons to give visual cues to the user what was going on. I thought it looked pretty slick (design is always subjective though) and had a rich enough feature set that the geeks were happy too. To me, it was kind of like a pair of Cole Haan heels with Nike Air – sure it's a slick and stylish patent leather heel, but it functions well too.

I showed some folks the mockups I had made in addition to the detailed functional specification I wrote to back up the pretty face. Many thought it was great and ready to move forward, but then there were others that were hesitant. They said it had too much color and too many icons. That it looked great for a consumer product, but for a business product... well to be taken seriously there I was told, I needed to have an all gray color scheme and text only menus. No one would take an application seriously with a menu of icons. No business would buy that kind of application. I said but it has all the functionality one would want, why wouldn't they buy it?! I can understand that argument if it looked really slick, but then didn't have any decent functionality – but that wasn't the case here at all – it was packed with great functionality. Wasn't it an added bonus that it looked nice too? It didn't matter. Nor did it matter that it was PEOPLE not businesses that used this software, and at the end of the day all people are consumers. I lost the argument and we ended up with a colorless, boring UI with text only menus. *sigh*

When was it decided business applications had to suck to be taken seriously? Can't something look fantastic AND function? Anyone who still believes it can't hasn't walked into an apple store lately. They are proving users can really have their cake and eat it too. And with social media tools proliferating into businesses it's happening to web applications too – people want tools that are easy and fun to use, can be configured to how they work, have slick user interfaces, and function well. And contrary to some folk's beliefs – you can really have that!

Where does the time go

2008-12-15T12:06:00.003-05:00

I have been seriously slacking the last few months with my blog! Life has been so hectic and busy that I just have not had any time. I am REALLY looking forward to that 2 week vacation... starting this Friday! :)

People Fall for This?

2008-11-21T08:22:00.003-05:00

Who actually falls for this email and opens the attachments?

Subject of email: Your Tracking # 235478914988
From: United Postal Service

UM ok if you really are going to try to get me to think I shipped something via the USPS perhaps you want to call the postal service by it's real name the *United States* Postal Service. Just Sayin'

Oh and BTW - I buy enough crap online that I know the USPS has never contacted me via email (except to confirm an address change I did online once). But even if I hadn't this email is so fake it's ridiculous!

Body of email:
Sorry, we were not able to deliver postal package you sent on November the 1st in time because the recipient s address is not correct.

Please print out the invoice copy attached and collect the package at our office.
If you do not receive package in ten days you will have to pay 36$ per day.

Your UPS

I'm not sure what is worse: the grammar or the content itself. If I don't 'receive' it they will charge $36? UM well since they are the 'postal service' it's kind of their job that I receive it (or rather the person I 'sent' it to does), perhaps if you don't 'pick up your package' or 'put the correct address on it' would have been slightly better. and really who's seen the post office sign anything 'yours UPS' oh and btw that acronym stands for 'united parcel service' and if they are trying to fake UPS, their tracking numbers always have a Z in them. But I'm back to - if you knew I send a package wouldn't you know my phone number or name?

What I don't understand is - who falls for this bullshit? Is there really a person who says oh my - I need to get that package back right away. I don't remember shipping anything, but I must have! and opens the attachments? Really???

Right Turn Grinches

2008-11-20T08:17:00.004-05:00

What do I mean by right turn grinches? I'm sure you've been there before.

Picture this: you are driving along and you are approaching a red light. Well that's ok you think, I can turn right on red and there's no one coming. Ah but wait my friend, the right turn grinch in front of you who is going straight and has their own lane has decided that they are going to block you from taking the right. There's is no way on earth they are going to let you get in front of them, even though you are aren't even going in the same direction.

So now instead of turning right and going on your merry way. you have to sit. and wait. and wait. because some jerk can't stay in their lane and insists on hogging two lanes - the right turn and the straight one. WHY WHY WHY do people do this? This happens to me almost daily.

Now I can see in traffic - the lanes fill up and cars going straight end up blocking the right turn lane. That makes sense, but it's the other time when there are only 1 or 2 cars in front of you and someone insists on doing this.

Perhaps they are clueless and don't realize it? But honestly if you are this out of it and have no idea what lane you are in or if you are turning or not you shouldn't be behind the wheel of a CAR!

Yes We...

2008-11-05T08:33:00.006-05:00

~~Can~~ DID!!!

What an exciting night to be alive to witness history!

I wasn't always an Obama supporter - I voted for Hillary in the primary (I've always liked the Clintons)... but once it was narrowed down to the 2 candidates and the VP picks were made, my choice was clear. I didn't dislike McCain - in fact I liked him more than any other Republican candidate, but he just didn't have that magnetic personality Obama has and I didn't feel he had a real plan for America. I felt like McCain wasn't tuned into Gen X or Gen Y in quite the same way Obama was. And honestly his campaign people ran a shitty smear ridden campaign. Even Bill Kristol of the weekly standard said weeks ago that McCain should fire his strategy people- because of the negative campaign and other tactics they were employing. I did not like the Palin pick. As an independent woman that voted Hillary that wasn't how to get me.

For me, it really felt like finally a candidate who gets where I'm coming from - he's younger, intelligent, passionate, and all around I feel like he gets it. He's in touch with what's going on. Some think Socialist, but I think he's more about doing what it right for the greater good of society. He got the youth excited again! He got them involved - Gen X and Gen Y made the difference in this election. I've been voting for some time now, but I've never been as excited, hopeful, and nervous as I was yesterday casting my vote.

As a person that works in Social Media - I was also amazed at the role it played in this election. Following the coverage on Twitter was awesome. I was getting updates from Twitter often faster than I was on the news (switching back and forth between: CNN, NBC, Fox and Comedy Central). Obama was the first candidate that really reached out and embraced technologies like Twitter, Facebook, SMS etc. To me those things were critical: He got my world, he knew how to reach me. This is what I do every day. My company always talks about the Power of WE and how our product helps businesses harness that to gain insight from their employees, customers, or partners faster. But now we all just witnessed the power of WE nationally. What a shame his grandmother and even mother didn't get to live to see this amazing day.

How awesome was it for America that our young people took to the streets beeping, yelling, screaming, cheering... celebrating the election of a PRESIDENT as if it was a Superbowl or World Series win!!??? I know I haven't witnessed that in my lifetime. Young people as enthusiastic about our electoral process as a sporting event? Americans not looking like the spoiled, apathetic, buffoons the rest of the world has often painted us as (and rightfully so sometimes).

If Obama is as good of a leader as he is a speaker - we just may be looking at one of the greatest presidents of all time, certainly in our lifetime. Wouldn't that be amazing? I'm just so happy I was alive to witness this. He's got a very tough road ahead: 2 wars, a struggling economy, home foreclosures, job loss etc etc... and it remains to be seen how well he will handle those hurdles, but I feel hopeful about it. Now let's all work together as a nation to fix these issues and make this a great country to live in.

* You realize Bostonians will go back to being their miserable selves again in about 2 weeks... ;)

Nov 4th

2008-11-03T10:53:00.005-05:00

How long do you think the lines will be to vote tomorrow in Somerville? Why doesn't MA have early voting like so many other states? Not really looking forward to wasting half my morning in line, but there is no way I'm not voting!

I will be so happy (well I hope so) when this election is over. I am sick and tired of hearing the candidates smear each other. And honestly the crap I've heard come out of some of the folks working for McCain is flat out lies. Why lie? Each person's record should speak for itself.

In fact the "attack calls" being made by the McCain camp were so offensive 3 dozen workers in Indiana walked off the job rather than make the calls.

There are reasons to vote for and against both candidates, so why not focus on WHY I should vote for YOU, rather than why I shouldn't vote for someone else? That is far more effective for me. And honestly I was who McCain was trying to reach (an independent woman who voted for Hillary in the primaries) when he picked Palin, but it did the opposite for me - and then his campaign alienated me more with the behavior at the RNC (who makes fun of a community organizer? they got of their ASS and made a difference, doesn't that matter?), attack ads, and rude comments/lies from various people in his campaign.

I found this post that a middle aged white guy wrote about Obama pretty interesting.

Facebook Ads

2008-11-03T10:46:00.006-05:00

Facebook finally figured out how to get me to click on an ad! It was finally something I was actually interested in, and not the stupid ones they show most of the time. Sure they show me ads occasionally for random shoes, but I am not interested in random shoes. I have specific taste. So if you want to get me to buy something, you better target it right. Just sayin'

This time they got it right: super cute Diane Von Furstenberg heels on sale.. just in time for holidays parties. Now all I need is a LBD to wear these fabulous shoes with!

I love it when...

2008-10-29T08:39:00.003-04:00

phishing emails claiming to be legitimate companies have typos in their emails. Because I am *sure* Amazon doesn't know the difference between below and bellow.

Here's the lovely phishing email I got this morning from 'amazon':

We are contacting you to inform you that our Account Review Team identified some unusual activity in your account. In accordance with Amazon's User Agreement and to ensure that your account has not been compromised, access to your account was limited. Your account access will remain limited until this issue has been resolved. To secure your account and quickly restore full access, we may require some additional information from you for the following reason: We have been notified that a card associated with your account has been reported as lost or stolen, or that there were additional problems with your card.
This process is mandatory, and if not completed within the nearest time your account or credit card may be subject for temporary suspension.
To securely confirm your Amazon information please click on the link bellow:

http://g3.office-moon.co.jp/-/Amazon/www.amazon.com/

yea cuz THAT looks like amazon's URL.

Who actually clicks on this stuff and enters their personal information? Misspellings and strange a URL weren't a tip off enough?

Magazing Subscriptions...

2008-10-18T10:30:00.004-04:00

Just a quick note to magazine subscription people:

If I subscribe to a magazine in July of 2008 and my subscription is set to renew July 2009, don't send me 'RENEW Now!!!' crap in the mail (wasting paper) in OCTOBER of 2008!!!!!!! WTF! I have 9 freaking months left of my subscription. I don't need to be reminded THAT far ahead to renew.. and I certainly don't need to renew now before it's too late.

And I am pretty sure they already sent me a renewal notice last month too. Who actually thinks oh I should renew now because they won't remind me 20 more times before my subscription ends??

Direct TV YOU SUCK!

2008-10-11T18:24:00.003-04:00

What a way to WASTE the best fall day of the year.. waiting. inside my house. for you shitty direct tv to show up!

We wanted to upgrade to HD and scheduled an appointment today. They gave us a window of 12-5pm - which already is pretty ridiculous. You need a 5 HOUR window!? Just tell us the friggin time! And honestly it may not even be the guy they send out - it's probably that they book him 250 appointments in one day. Like I have nothing better to do!?

So needless to say, it's 6:30pm and they STILL haven't fucking shown up. AN HOUR AND A HALF AFTER THE LATEST TIME THEY GAVE US!!!! I am beyond bullshit. I told bf to take the old direct tv receiver and the stuff and hand it to the guy when he shows up - tell him to fuck off and that we are switching services because they blew it! and I will be sending them a bill for MY wasted time! But he didn't really go for that..

How can these companies get away with this kind of service... if you can call it that.

I hate you direct tv, and if it was up to me I would cancel your service!!!

WTF?

2008-10-10T20:03:00.002-04:00

So I joined this site because they supposedly have great discounts on designer clothing and shoes. They open the boutique for 2 days and each day there is a new boutique.

Which is cool... but um WTF is up with this shoe collection? I love Marc Jacobs shoes...

but I do NOT like these.

why is it

2008-10-10T19:46:00.002-04:00

That every time I go to the gas station to fill up - the attendant hits on me?

Nothing against the guy working the pump, he provides a service we all need (unless you go to self serve then you don't need him), but I digress... I just don't think we are on the same path in life. Does he really think I'm: A: Single B: Willing to leave my boyfriend if I'm not and C: that I'm not a workaholic who wants to be with a career driven person.

Tonight after he hit on me, he asked me who I was voting for! I couldn't tell if it was a trick question or not.

Ladies does this happen to you too?

What happens when...

2008-10-03T08:46:00.004-04:00

You live in a 100+ year old house in Somerville and want to change a light?

Well you have to call an electrician because the box in the ceiling and the light attached to it are original to 1900. All of the light fixtures in my house have gas lines coming into them! Gas lines! for actual gas lamps! Apparently in 1900 they wired the houses for electricity, but since most didn't have that yet - also installed gas lines in every room to have gas lights until electricity was installed.

Which brings us to modern day. We have lights in every room. They are ugly and dated so we want to change them. We attempted on our own and turns out - the entire box housing the light fixture and the gas line needs to be taken out to install any light fixture made in the last 30 years. Oh and of course that is uber expensive to do... Great. Now I know why all the previous owners of the house chose to leave the lights as they were.

A view of the hole in the ceiling with gas line coming out:

speaking of bullshit...

2008-10-01T20:28:00.002-04:00

Somerville's revenue generator, Oh I mean their 'street cleaning' racket really pisses me off. Twice a week I can't park on my street, or the side streets near me because of 'street cleaning' which half the time they don't ACTUALLY DO!

Last night I forgot to move my car and sure enough when I remembered at 12:01 they are already out there ticketing me. Hey if you go down to the traffic office you wait 45 minutes, but they are mighty timely when it comes to ticketing you the tax payer of their town. The ticket is also $50! Are you kidding me!?? $50 fucking dollars for parking during 'street cleaning'.

YEA and this morning when I came out (no reason to move my car after the $50 ticket) it was CLEAR the street wasn't cleaned at all! There were a bunch of leaves and dirt/sand on the side that was 'cleaned' and there was no clear path of where the street sweeper had driven through - you can see the path when they drive through it lasts for a while.

OH and I REALLY love it when it's raining and they ticket for 'street cleaning'. I can HEAR the cleaner when it drives by and doesn't go by when it's raining.

What a waste of time

2008-10-01T18:06:00.005-04:00

Wicked glad I wasted 2 hours of my night in rush hour traffic (and hungry!) driving to Butcherie in Brookline - only to get there and it's closed!!!

Their website says they are open till 8pm tonight.. Guess it's the 2nd day of Rosh Hashanah, so I assume that's why they are closed, but didn't see anything on the website.. maybe they should let people know that kind of thing before they waste 2 hours driving behind moronic drivers who can't even go the speed limit to get there!!!

On the Leverett Connector we get behind some guy going 25mph - who NO ONE in front of him!! So even though there wasn't any traffic on the Leverett for a change we waited anyway stop/go (me and about 5 other cars) because of an idiot in the front that can't drive!!!!!

Now I am home. Sans hummus and kugel. Hungry. Bitchy. and tired. ARGH!!!

And while I'm at it, who are the jackasses that saunter across the street at a green light like they have ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD - don't worry - I've only waited 20 minutes for the green, but go ahead, you should cross right now so I miss the green AGAIN!!! NO REALLY I HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO FUCKING DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ARGH...

2008-09-30T22:08:00.002-04:00

So Busy and stressed!

So much work to do at work and at home... I feel like I'm never getting ahead of all I have to do. I need a vacation!

I've been neglecting my blog and it's making me sad... I want to talk about shoes during my nights, not user interactions..

Excitement at Work

2008-09-28T22:40:00.003-04:00

The other day at work there was a car crash.. and a car flipped..

Caused quite a stir in the office.

The white truck tried to cut someone off to take the left, but obviously misjudged how fast the oncoming car was going (blue car). The white truck then spun around, hit the gold car and flipped.

even more annoying than barking dogsI

2008-09-18T14:42:00.003-04:00

Is the crazy guy - who's outside my house walking back and forth screaming 'fucking fuck' at people as they walk down the street and following them.

NICE.

We had a few day reprieve from him. I was hopeful.... now, not so much.

chihuahuas

2008-09-18T13:43:00.005-04:00

Chihuahua's have to be the most annoying and paranoid dogs ever!!!

My neighbor next door has two chihuahuas and then another dog that appears to be a pit bull mix. I have to say I LOVE the pit mix and can't stand the stupid chihuahuas!!!

Why?
The chihuahuas bark at every noise, movement, atmospheric pressure change.. you name it - these freaking dogs are barking like maniacs at it. See their own shadow they are barking.... They also think at 10lbs each (maybe a little more) that they are really tough. Who are they kidding? Sure they are actually kind of cute, but they are freaking ANNOYING.

Now take the pit mix - he's gorgeous and pretty huge AND he rarely barks. He seems like a great dog. When does he bark? When he's been out there all day and getting lonely for some attention - and even then he only lets out a few 'hey don't forget about me barks'. Other than that I don't hear him barking very often. Maybe a few times here or there when someone comes into his lawn. He's pretty chill.

Some of my windows face the fenced in area they hang out in all day. So I like to say hello. the pit looks up and wags his tail and seems pretty happy someone is talking to him. The freaking rug rats bark like maniacs - and the pit just looks down at them like what is the problem - Shut up.

Today I'm working from home and the big guy is just chilling as usual, but the rats are going nuts because there are roofers on the neighbors house. They aren't even in their yard or all that close to it. HOW LARGE do the chihuahuas think their territory is? The pit mix doesn't seem to give a hoot what the roofers are doing.

What makes me laugh even more - one time the fence was either left open accidentally, or became open somehow and the BAD ASS chihuahuas just went up to the back door of their house and barked to be let in. They didn't even run away.. OR bark at the people walking by on the street that they could have gone after since they were actually finally free. Real tough.

Blink Tags!?

2008-09-17T19:58:00.004-04:00

There's almost nothing I hate more than the Blink tag. Why would you make things blink on the screen? It's annoying to users and, like, soooo 1995.

Luckily most sites no longer use such offensive HTML on their sites, so you can imagine my shock and horror to find it today on the the MA Voter Registration form. UGH why why why why? I moved, so I need to update my location for my voter registration - I found a link to request a form online. Granted they wanted to make it clear that my voter registration update wouldn't be final until I mail in the form. But instead of the irritating blink tag taking away my attention from the action I'm trying to perform, why not use a different color text, like red to call my attention, make the text bold (they did that), and make it a slightly larger font size?

But don't believe me... check it for yourself: http://www.sec.state.ma.us/ele/elestu/stuidx.htm

How to Piss of your Customers / Users

2008-09-12T08:31:00.014-04:00

I decided to set up Poland Spring water delivery service to my home. I drink a ton of water, it's nice to have the dispenser that gives hot and cold, I use less (if any) small water bottles, and I don't have to go to the store and get it. All good stuff.

But try to figure out your friggin bill. Good luck! Here's what the screen looks like with my billing information:

It appears to me that my bill each month will be $31.96. But I look at my credit card and I've been charged $58.70 - UM WTF is going on?

I call and get a representative that tells me - for your first delivery there is a $20 deposit, there is tax on each delivery, and a $2.00 a month rental fee for the water cooler. Ok fine I say, but you should really be more clear on your website. There is NO WAY for me to find out the information what my bill will REALLY cost me. She says yes that information can ONLY be found in the email we send when we first confirm you as a customer. HUH so the only way I can EVER know my full bill is to search and find this email. Wicked helpful. Thanks.

I mean if it's more each month include that on the page with my billing info! Why only show me part of my bill? Then I realized upon further reading (clicking the click here for details) in the pop-up window that there's also a fuel surcharge - which from calculating the charge on my credit card and subtracting the other fees is about $5. The woman on the phone didn't mention anything about a fuel surcharge for each delivery.

Then she kept explaining that there was a $2.00 fee for the cooler and tax. I GET THAT - REALLY I DO. What I am trying to tell you folks at Poland Spring - your site is ineffective. You do not clearly show the user what their bill will be each month. Clicking the more details just says there are fees, but doesn't tell me what they are for my bill.

Wouldn't it be so much easier for me as a customer and user of your website to say here's your monthly bill:
Water $31.96,
Tax $0.10,
Water Cooler $2.00,
Fuel Surcharge $5.00.
For a total of: $39.06.

I mean cuz that would be... um.. USABLE???

Oh and one may think 'hey I will just click on that My Billing link there, that's going to show me my real bill'. If you thought that - you would be wrong. This is what I got when I clicked that link:

I've never actually been able to get my real billing info by clicking that link. All I ever get is an error. Don't know if it never works, or only when I want to see my billing info?

Also BTW I should add the woman on the phone either wasn't aware of the fuel surcharge, or somehow can't figure out exactly what my monthly bill will be (if that is true why is it so variable!??) because she said my bill would be about $35 a month. But by my calculations of the bill I just got for the first one that's incorrect it's going to be $39.06. And why can they only say around, why can't I get an accurate quote of my bill? And I get if I add something to my order one month it goes up, but if I don't and I get my standard order - can't they give me the exact amount it will cost me?

I then log out and go to the website to see if I were to create a new account - would this information all be clear to me? This is what I get - still different amounts than what I was charged - although they do point out tax, deposit, and fuel surcharge.

So then I think where the hell is this first bill that I got in an email explaining all this? I have to search for it because they only send that once. The email to let me know I have a delivery is just that - no billing info is contained in it. So I find it... and shock #2 - apparently it's also a 24 month service contract. That's not on their site ANYWHERE when you sign up... well anywhere one is actually looking for the information!

I found the information at the bottom of the screen, then had to click a pop-up to figure out how long the service agreement is (seriously WHY wouldn't you put this information right where I'm reviewing my order in the same font size!?????) Maybe because you know I may rethink that order if I knew I was locked in for 2 years? I hate those service commitments! However the website says it's only a 12 month commitment!!!! Not 24 like the email says. So which is it!? I want the 12 of course.

I mean I like the convenience of the water delivery and all, but don't make me a detective to figure out what my bill is going to be each month and how long my service contract is!!!

Winter Boots

2008-09-08T23:35:00.008-04:00

Yey It's boot time again (well I hate snow, I just like wearing an array of boots!)

I'm scoping out the best pairs and I don't know which to get yet...

Loving these Stuart Weitzman's:

Tried on these Lamb shoes today, gotta say leather isn't as nice as the Weitzman's:

Sorry Lamb I wanted to like you but I don't... not as comfy and I don't like the leather as much.

Fall Shoes

2008-09-08T23:25:00.003-04:00

Ahhh shoe shopping again. Hey its a new season, that means new shoes!

I'm still on the look out for those Vipers, but Nordstrom didn't have them. Bummer. I did however get these today:

Only catch they didn't have my size I tried on a larger size - liked them so I had to order them. Now I need to wait 3-5 business days. UGH I HATE waiting... I want them now! </whine>

Um Yea

2008-09-08T22:46:00.002-04:00

So our football season began and ended in the same quarter. Waahhh.

I am so incredibly sad Brady is out for the season and nothing against Cassel - he's just no Brady.

There's talk that Pollard made a cheap shot, but it's so hard to tell. It's going to be an interesting game next week against the Jets...

nothing deflating our hopes in the first 7 minutes of the first game.

getting political for a minute..

2008-09-07T10:31:00.006-04:00

So normally I don't talk politics on my blog - as I would rather focus on Fashion, Football, and Somerville... but I just can't help myself today.

I'm a pretty moderate person - there's things I like about both parties. My problem I hate hypocrites.

I don't want to be highly taxed - I personally think taxes should factor how much you make and WHERE in the country you live. Because making 100K in the middle of Oklahoma is REALLY different from making that same salary in NYC, Boston, or San Francisco - the cost of life is so much more expensive in those cites. I think society has an obligation to help people, but don't think people should abuse that help and if they do I think there should be repercussions. I think parents shouldn't look to schools to raise their kids for them. I think people should start stepping up and taking ownership and responsibility for their actions.

I like that republicans don't want lots of big government interfering in people lives. Well rather in theory it's a good idea not to interfere. But in reality they want to tell me who I can marry, and what I can do with my own body. To me that IS big government interfering with my life and telling me how to live it! To me government has no right to interfere with those two things. And it's not because I want to go get an abortion if I got pregnant I wouldn't, but I don't know everyone's situations. Who am I (or anyone) to decide and judge them on that? Who am I to decide who someone can love and marry? Aren't there more important things to worry about?

What also makes no sense to me is this whole pro life, but pro death penalty. How can a person be pro life, but then pro death at the same time? To me that just doesn't add up. Because if you truly think that everyone deserves life - doesn't that really include EVERYONE?

And this whole gun thing.. surely folks that are responsible gun owners and hunters should be able to have a gun and hunt. Do I like hunting? Not at all, but if someone hunts for their food and eats it - who the hell am I to judge? I don't like it if people are just doing it for sport and not using the animal for food. And I find it pretty hypocritical if someone is super pro life but then shoots and animal for the hell of it and sticks it's head on their wall- what about the animal's right to life? People have to see that having a gun in Alaska is VERY different from walking around with one in the middle of a city! And it's also clear to me not everyone is a responsible adult, or has good intentions - so you need some rules around guns for the good of society. Otherwise it's just chaos.

Folks always quote the constitution and the right to bear arms, but that was written over 200 years ago - the world was different then. Then the world was much more rural, people probably hunted more for their food. People had to protect their property from large animals and probably other people (especially during a war!) But in today's world can you imagine if every single person living in a large apartment complex in the middle of a city had a gun? It that really necessary or a good idea? It all depends where you live - the farmer in Montana living on hundreds of acres of land is quite different from me living in a Condo in Somerville where my neighbors are on top of me. I don't need a gun - he probably does.

But what I mostly don't like about this election - the twisting of words. I hate backstabbing and mud slinging. Stick to what YOU are going to do - don't tell me how much the other person sucks. That is just ridiculous and not helpful. If anything it makes me less likely to vote for you. These republican strategists have somehow gotten it into many people's heads Obama isn't like them. He grew up with a single mom - how is that really elite? How is he really so different? They say he doesn't have small town values, but then when asked in a poll at the RNC what small town values were - no one could answer it!! NOT ONE PERSON!

I mean if you are going to say someone doesn't have small town values - you should be able to define what that means and why they don't have it. One woman said 'it's sitting around the kitchen table talking'. Does she REALLY FREAKING believe that Obama has never sat around his kitchen table talking with his family??? REALLY?????? Are you fucking kidding me? To me small town values means that I should treat others how I would like to be treated - which means I am not going to judge people or want to put discrimination into our constitution or society. But clearly their word twisting propaganda has worked - yesterday I was out and heard someone talking politics and how Obama is: an elitist, a muslim, was going to raise everyone's taxes and more. He's not a muslim (and really it shouldn't matter if he is - he's an AMERICAN - that's what matters!!!!!) but those words have been put out there enough there are people that believe it! I can't even believe there are, but there are - I heard it with my own ears!!!!

And really that is just sad. I want to know all the information I can possibly know. I want to make a decision I feel comfortable with and be able to explain why I made that decision. I watch NBC, CNN, Fox, and more to make sure I see all sides. Each network has a different slant and from that I hope I can take away the truth. How can people not be interested in trying to find out all the information? It's out there - you just have to look for it. Why be ignorant?

Dogtown

2008-09-01T23:02:00.003-04:00

Yesterday we decided to go for a hike with friends. They had some kind of hiking/trail guide that listed Dogtown as a strenuous hike - rated 7. Sounded fun. It was listed as 8 miles long.

We get there - all seems hopeful. They have sheets of paper with a map of the trails. But the trails are listed by name, not by color.

I don't know how or when we went wrong but none of the trails were labeled by name, only by color - and we had no idea which color mapped to what trail. So we just decided to follow the red. Seems simple until you realize wherever we were walking was the most poorly labeled trail we'd ever been on. We wandered all over. We barely found markings on the trees and could not figure out where we were on the map.

I finally gathered the 7 rating was the frustration level one feels trying to find the actual path.

After wandering for a few hours we found our way out and left. We then went to this random bar/restaurant in Peabody known to have the best steak tips on the north shore. And I gotta say - they were pretty damn tasty.

The highlight of this day of hiking:
leaving the restaurant one of our friends goes to open his trunk and drops his one and only set of keys down a sewer grate!! Luckily the sewer was not that deep and the guys managed to move the grate. After a few failed attempts of using the snow scrapper to get the keys, one of the guys went into the nasty looking and smelling sewer and fished them out! EWWWWWW poor guy!

Patriots

2008-08-28T21:46:00.002-04:00

I hope these preseason games are just a fluke and they are going to get it together for the real games.

These preseason games have not been good.

ohhh I Need these

2008-08-28T21:33:00.002-04:00

Loving these shoes. I need to have them NOW.

Stuart Weitzman - Viper Platform Slingbacks

They're Back

2008-08-28T21:19:00.002-04:00

Yes it's that time of the year again. Cambridge, Somerville, and Boston all over has been infested with students. Yesterday must have been move in day at Harvard and Tufts because it took me forever to get home. And there seriously has to be a lot of freshman or something because no one knew what the hell they were doing, or where they were going.

Driving home people were stopping in the middle of the freaking road. for no good reason. They weren't turning. I don't know what the fuck they were doing besides getting in my way! Who stops in the middle of the road? No blinker. No pulling aside. Just stopping! ARGH Pull to the side!

Yesterday it took me a full hour to drive from Newton to Somerville via back roads that normally take me 20 minutes! I have not seen such poor driving in a looooooong time.

Prada.com

2008-08-23T11:52:00.003-04:00

UM WHY Prada would you not have an online store for the US, but you have one for for all of Europe. Not Fair!!!!!!!

And if Saks or Neimans were actually carrying your new shoe from Vogue's August edition I would buy it there, but they don't have it!

I'm annoyed. I NEED this shoe!

Cusp

2008-08-23T11:22:00.002-04:00

ohh there's going to be a new boutique opening in Chestnut Hill called Cusp. It looks like it may be pretty good. This is their blog too.

The card they sent me shows items from: See by Chloe, LAMB, Nanette Lepore, and Cynthia Vincent. Grand Opening is Thursday, August 28th.

I sense a shopping trip coming on... good thing the credit cards are all paid off for this month! WOO HOO ;)

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

2008-08-21T08:27:00.002-04:00

Who actually REPLIES to these stupid emails?? I guess someone must or they wouldn't keep sending them out. I don't know how a person could fall for this!? and if you worked for a 'reputable bank in South Africa' wouldn't you just name the bank???? I mean come on - make it sound KIND OF REAL WTF!? Oh and he has a gmail account - cuz that is so legit for a banker!

So hilarious:

I am Dr. Fredrick Mbeki, the account officer of a reputable bank in South Africa. There is an account open in this bank in 2002 and since 2004 and nobody has operated on this account again. After going through some old files in the records, I discovered that if I do not remit this money out urgently it would be forfeited for nothing.

The owner of this account is Mr. Daniel Benson, a foreigner, Business Man and a miner at Kruger Gold Company, a Geologist by profession and he died since 2003.No other person knows this account or anything concerning it, the account has no other beneficiary and my investigation proved to me as well that this company does not know anything about this account and the money involved is One hundred and Thirty Six Million United States Dollars (US$ 136 Million).

I want us to first transfer US$ 36 Million from this money into your safe overseas account before the rest. I am only contacting you as a foreigner because this money cannot be approved to a local bank here, but can only be approved to any foreign account because the money is in United States Dollars and the former owner Mr. Daniel Benson is a foreigner too. I know that this message will come to you as surprise as we don't know ourselves before. We will sign an agreement, but be sure that it is real and a genuine business. You can view the web site bellow for more information on our late client.http://archives.cnn.com/2003/US/02/01/alaska.airlines.list/

I only got your contact information from my secretary who operates computer; with believe in God that you will never let me down in this business, considering my position as a public servant. You are the only person that I have contacted in this business; so please reply urgently so that I will inform you the next step to take immediately.

Send also your private telephone and fax numbers including the full details of your account to be used for the deposit. I want us to meet face-to-face and sign a binding agreement to bind us together so that you can receive this money into your account where the fund will be safe. And I will fly to your country for withdrawal and sharing and other investment.

Meanwhile, I am contacting you because of the need to involve a foreigner with foreign account and foreign beneficiary. I need your full co-operation to make this work fine because the management is ready to approve this payment to any foreigner who has correct information of this account, which I will give to you as soon as you indicate your sincerity to co-operate with me, and capability to handle such amount in strict confidence and trust according to my instruction and advice for our mutual benefit because this opportunity may never come again in my life. I need a truthful and God fearing person in this business because I don't want to make a mistake so I need your strong assurance and trust.

With my position in the office I don't want anything that will jeopardize my job so I advice that we should make secrecy and confidentiality our primary working condition, bearing in mind that I am a public servant. I will also use my position and influence to effect legal approvals and onward transfer of this money to your account with appropriate clearance forms of the ministries and foreign exchange department.

At the conclusion of this business, you will be giving 25% of the total amount, 70% will be for me, while 5% will be for expenses both parties might have incurred the process of the transfer. I look forward to your earliest reply through my alternative email address:

Yours sincerely,

Dr.Fredrick Mbeki

Rotaries

2008-08-20T22:49:00.002-04:00

Why is it that people just cannot navigate a rotary??

Today I got to witness a genius go through the rotary in the wrong direction to apparently make a turn into a parking lot quicker?

What jackass does this and stops up the rotary for minutes while everyone tries to figure out what this idiot is trying to do?

Ugg

2008-08-17T11:45:00.002-04:00

I'm not a fan. I think I'm in the minority though.

It seems everyone has a pair of these boots. I guess they are probably warm and comfortable, but I just can't do it.

And now they are making them in silver. It looks like a moon boot.

UGG

How do you Ruin...

2008-08-17T11:04:00.004-04:00

A perfectly cute stilleto? You add a rugged giant ugly sole to it.

What is up with the sole on this Yves Saint Laurent shoe? Prior to that manly work boot sole - these would have been super cute shoes for a dressy occasion. Now they just look horsey. Plus they are all around $800 (give or take a little). I'm sorry but I'm not paying $800 for a big rubber soled shoe. I don't think I'd pay $50. I just don't like the sole. Waste of a cute shoe.

Fall Shoes

2008-08-17T10:43:00.003-04:00

One of my favorite thing about fall is new shoes! I love looking at all the new styles and while I love my summer sandals - there's something fantastic about a pair of leather boots, or classic black heels.

I am loving these new Christian Louboutin Black Leather Armadillo Peep-Toe Platforms. The striped pattern is very funky, yet classic.

If I don't shop for any else all month maybe I can afford them...

What's Society to do?

2008-08-14T21:43:00.004-04:00

So I moved in with my boyfriend who lives right in Davis Sq. slightly closer to Powderhouse circle (I used to be near Porter). I've lived in Somerville for close to 4 years.

So now for the dilemma. There is a man who I believe is named Mike who is clearly mentally disabled. Some days he sits quietly on a bench and chain smokes, but more often than not he follows people down the street yelling, screaming, spitting, swearing at them and violating their personal space while doing it. Most of the time he repeats the same speech - why did they do this or that - not really sure what he's saying and I really try to avoid him at all costs.

Now I really wouldn't care if this man sat on a bench all day and yelled and smoked. But he doesn't he walks down the streets scaring people (at least it scares me) - he talks way too closely for my comfort and spits on you as he's yelling (not on purpose). But it's gross - who wants to get spit on?

Now he's coming further down my street towards Davis (he used to stay right @Powerhouse circle). Now most mornings I wake up to him screaming outside my window. It's annoying when my windows are open in the summer and all I hear for about 2 hours straight are the same ramblings from this guy. I would like to wake up to a little peace and quiet - my street is busy enough with all the cars.

And now last week he started a new thing - screaming 'get the fuck out of here' over and over. Great... now he's yelling AND angry AND swearing! AND on MY fucking front lawn! I don't want to be harassed and scared when I'm trying to come and go from my home! I don't want to feel like a hostage in my own home because I'm afraid to leave because he's standing in front of my car. I don't want someone screaming get the fuck out of here at me while I am trying to get into my car to go to work! This morning he was hovering on the sidewalk in front of my house - blocking the way to my car so I stayed in my house until he moved across the street to yell at another innocent victim.

I mean what is one to do about this? On one hand the man is clearly mentally disabled. He clearly can't help it - I feel bad for him. But then why is it ok for him (or anyone) to scream at me in front of my home? BF says to me well he's harmless he's never hurt anyone, just ignore him. It seems he hasn't, but still that makes it ok for him to verbally assault me in front of my home because he's got an illness? Where are my rights? How can I ignore someone yelling at me, close to my face, spitting on me, walking next to me? How does society handle something like this? What is the right thing to do here?

Overheard @ Burlington Mall

2008-08-11T19:55:00.002-04:00

From what looked like a very able 6 year old boy (or he looked about that age) to his mother on her cell phone:

'Mom tie my shoe'.

Um tie it yourself! He looked old enough to know how to perform this task. Is this how lazy American kids are getting they can't even tie their own shoes? UGH

F-U state of CT

2008-08-06T12:55:00.003-04:00

After a weekend of debauchery in the NJ Shore - we were making such great time coming home - when on 84 at 7pm on a Sunday night in the summer - The state of CT shuts the whole thing down to one freaking lane to do road work.

Are you kidding me???

It's 7pm! On a Sunday in the summer - you have to KNOW tons of people will be driving back from their vacation destinations! Like maybe shutting the road down at 10pm would be a smarter decision?????

So instead of getting home while it was still light out - we sat in an hour and a half traffic while the highway went down to one lane. An hour and half to drive one freaking mile!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess the one good thing is that we were there right after they shut down the road so didn't have to wait as long as the miles of folks behind us waiting.

A Real MASShole

2008-07-31T14:16:00.003-04:00

Some people just suck.

I just don't understand the need some assholes feel to yell and scream at random people for no good reason.

Here's the scenario:

I'm in moving hell, boxes stacked as tall as me, my new house in complete chaos with clothes, shoes, furniture, books, and various other things strewn everywhere. My back is killing me because I have just brought my 12th load of clean laundry up 2 flights to put away. I did so much laundry and leaned the baskets against my waist I actually had bruises on each side from the weight and amount of loads I did. On top of that I was cleaning and such - working non stop for 15 hours each day Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and then Sunday. I was exhausted and dirty - I had to run errands in between all of this. I threw on shorts and an I love NY tshirt. basically something I didn't care if it got all dirty or whatever.

so now comes the screaming part.

I had gone to goodwill to donate an entire truck full of duplicate dishes, sheets, towels, old clothes etc. It was a lot of work loading it up, then unloading at Goodwill. I was tired, in pain, hungry, and crabby.

I park my car to go back inside and do more unpacking when some jackass starts screaming out his car window at me "I HATE NY, NY SUCKS, WTF, FUCK NEW YORK" and it goes on....

OK ASSHOLE I get it.

But seriously shut the fuck up! It's a t-shirt. who wanted your stupid opinion anyway? I don't give a flying shit who you like or don't like. And seriously what prick starts screaming out the window at a chick walking into her house? I just do not get behavior like this. There is no reason to verbally assault people walking into their homes at 2pm on a Sunday afternoon - or anytime for that matter!

Moving of the Shoes

2008-07-31T14:08:00.007-04:00

As anyone who ever reads my sad little blog knows - I have a small issue with shoes.

I have a lot of them and they are my most valuable possessions besides my kitties. They are my artwork on display.

So moving them to the new condo couldn't be left up to just anyone. I knew special care had to be taken, so my friend and I moved them over ourselves before the move. I didn't bring all of them at once (as I needed a few pairs for the week before the move), but most of them went over a week before.

There were so many they filled the entire back of a Pathfinder with the back seats down! There were 3-4 boxes of shoes per shopping bag and about 60 pairs or so.

We got such a good laugh we had to take a picture:

I'm slacking!

2008-07-31T14:05:00.000-04:00

With the chaos of the move (I'm still organizing) I have blown off my blog almost the entire month of July! Oh My!

I will be back in full swing come when my house is organized!

What a Racket!

2008-07-21T10:25:00.016-04:00

For the most part I love living in Somerville, but there are some things that just really piss me off.

For example the racket they have going on with the parking situation.

Every year I have to get a permit for $12 (resident and 2 guest)- I am ok with that, but the permit has to renew in March because 'that is the zone' WTF!? So when I first got the permit in November or whenever I first got it a few years ago - I paid $12 for 4 months, then had to pay another $12 in March again! It's not a lot of money, but still if I get a permit for a 'year' it should really be for a 'year' not 2 months, for 4 months - 12 months!!! Today I was in the parking clerks office and the woman next to me just moved here and was getting on and they told her the same bullshit - oh you can't get this July-July - this is only good till March - it's your 'zone'.

Then there are the parking tickets because of 'street cleaning'. If it rains they don't clean the streets, but still ticket!!!! So I can't go on vacation for a week without bringing my car, because I have to move my car at least 2 times a week because of street cleaning 12am-6am two nights a week. Which of course creates a parking nightmare when you can only park on one side of the street overnight. If you forget they of course are quick to ticket.

Then there is the wonderful $30 or maybe even now $50 ticket for 'parking too close to an intersection'. What I love about this one is that we park in the same spot almost every day. Occasionally we have gotten this ticket, most of the time we don't. So I don't understand how only sometimes it's too close, but the other 90% of the time it's totally fine. Must be around end of the month quota time - lets screw residents that park in this same spot every day. I suggested fighting the ticket, bf thinks that is just a bigger waste of time. OH and I should add by 'intersection' they mean a very small one way side street with no light. RIGHT - definitely screwing up traffic at an 'intersection'! OH and the you parked here longer than 2 hours ticket is great. I parked in the same spot every day for about a year. Then one day (around labor day/moving time for college students) - I got a ticket! For violating the 2 hour limit! I literally had parked there every single day for a year without one! And I have never gotten that ticket again either!

Snow emergencies are another joy - first a $100 ticket if you don't make it home in time from work [or wherever you were off to when they declared it] to move your car, then a tow ride on top of that. WOO HOO! Oh and then when you go to the other lots to park, once the ban has been lifted you have 2 hours to get your car out of the lot or MORE tickets/towing. Gotta love it.

Which all leads me to today. I went to go get the parking restriction signs I need to allow a truck next to my building to move out ($10). My guess is I need them for a maximum of 3 hours (maybe less). My new condo has a driveway so I will just have the moving truck pull into that. So all I need were 2 of those restriction signs to hang up on my street for the movers. I have a front lot in my building, but it's slanted so I figured it would just be easier to park on the street - which now that I'm thinking about it - is also slanted. Whatever.

When I moved in I got the 2 signs - hung them up and the movers moved everything in quickly. I fill out the form to get the restriction which BTW they ask for my SS number? UM no don't think so - there is no reason you need my SS number for a 3 hour parking restriction!! WTF!? Then the lady tells me there is a new policy that I have to pay $25 to get a temporary moving van permit for EACH street and then the parking restriction signs for each street. UM no I'm not paying an additional $60 so Somerville can make even more money off me. I said when I moved in I only needed the restrictions - and I already paid for visitor permits. She says yea - you can't use those anymore we changed the rule 2 weeks ago. I mean really. What a bunch of bullshit. For years and years - they made $10 for parking restriction signs, and people probably put their guest parking permit in the window of the moving van. Now suddenly they need to charge $25 per day per vehicle, per street (one moving from and then one moving to)?

Why can't they find better ways to generate revenue than by scamming their residents on parking???? WTF!! So now I'm just going to have the moving van park in my lot on the hill and deal with it. I refuse to waste money on bullshit like that - oh that wouldn't have cost me almost anything 2 weeks ago.

holy crap

2008-07-20T22:43:00.004-04:00

I've been seriously ignoring my blog this week, but I promise I will be back in force once the move is over!

My friend - you know who you are! came over today and helped me pack! I feel like we got so much accomplished. Although I have not yet started my kitchen - which could be a disaster!

We loaded up the entire back of a Nissan Pathfinder (back seats down too) with my shoes to bring them over! I mean they are the most important part of the move (besides the me, my cats, and my clothes). I took pics I need to get them off my camera to post them.

Well no one reading this should be shocked with the excessive amounts of shoes I have. My collection is a serious commitment!

The other good thing my new condo is sparkling clean thanks to 3 very hard working cleaners that worked for 5.5 hours cleaning bf's condo (which I suspect he's NEVER actually cleaned even though he 'claims' he has - wiping down a counter doesn't actually clean the entire kitchen). Good thing I did that 2.5 hours of prep work to get the place organized and threw trash out before they got there!!!

Back to Reality

2008-07-14T20:00:00.002-04:00

UGH it sucks...........

Got back from my vacation at the NJ Shore last night and back to work today. As if coming back to work after a week off isn't stressful enough as it is I had to:

Cancel my cable tv and internet

Cancel my electricity

Set up forwarding addresses for my periodicals and such

hire a carpet cleaner to clean my carpets after I move out (part of my lease agreement)

go to the post office to mail amended tax returns

attempt to do some cleaning @ BF's condo to prepare

realized cleaning BF's condo is futile - research hiring a cleaning person

narrow cleaning list down to 2 women - one recommended from friend, another from Yelp

Stare into the abyss of shit in my apt overwhelmed at how I am going to manage to pack all this shit in time for the movers

contemplate how totally overwhelmed I will be when all my shit is combined with bf's shit next week - I need a Valium ugh

Ahhh Vacation....

2008-07-09T10:10:00.004-04:00

I've not been that active the last week and a half because I've been enjoying my vacation on the Jersey Shore.

right now I'm looking out the front deck onto the beach and waves coming in - I could get used to a view like this.

4th of July

2008-07-04T13:31:00.001-04:00

Happy 4th of July! What a crappy day though :( - oh well I guess I can clean up my house and hope the rest of my vacation week will be nice weather.

shoes 7-1

2008-07-01T12:24:00.004-04:00

I can't believe it's already July! Crazy! 4th of July is this week and we still haven't nailed down our plans.

The good thing about a Jimmy Choo 50% sale is I get to buy 2 pairs. YEY for me - happy 4th of July to me! LOL And I wonder why I have no money? It's all in the shoes......

Jimmy Choo White summer sandals:

shoes 6-30

2008-06-30T22:01:00.005-04:00

WOO HOOO what's not to love about the Jimmy Choo 50% off sale????????????

I mean one may still tell me I'm a fool for spending $250 on a pair of shoes, but that's 50% off the normal price. And seriously I would probably buy them at $500 too, so I saved money. I'm all about value :) ha ha ha ha

But seriously. I love Jimmy Choo shoes. Silver sandals:

Packing Sucks

2008-06-29T21:00:00.003-04:00

I know I don't have to move until July 25th, but if I don't start now I will never be ready. After the excessive amounts of shoe photos you can imagine it would take days just to pack my shoes, never mind my clothes.

Last time I moved I was still packing when the movers showed up, and they ended up packing some boxes too. ooops. I was convinced I would be ready in time. I was wrong.

So this time I am trying to be more prepared. I already have some boxes at my apt and I went over to bf's condo to organize his basement today so it would be ready for some of the excess stuff we would have to figure out what to do with.

It's overwhelming. UGH. The good thing is I'm so annoyed to pack stuff I've been throwing a lot away or donating it. I really hope I have FAR LESS stuff this time - than I did my last move - which took 3 movers 6-8 hours to complete. yeeaaaah.... I have a lot of stuff.

shoes 6-27

2008-06-29T20:53:00.007-04:00

Well these aren't the funkiest shoes or anything, but hey I was going on a booze cruise with younger friends for a 26th birthday (wow I feel old) and I needed to make sure I had shoes I could wear all day and all night. I knew partying with these young-uns would be fun, and I knew I'd get drunk.

It was fun, and I was drunk.

Good thing I had simple easy shoes I can walk in. They are comfy too with a cork sole.

Donald Pliner black wedges:

shoes 6-26

2008-06-29T20:42:00.006-04:00

OMG I LOVE LOVE LOVE these shoes for summer!

A few weeks ago - maybe even a month - I saw these cuties at Nordstrom's. I meant to go back for them, but hadn't gotten a chance. Then on Wednesday of last week I went to lunch with a friend of mine. We went to the Cheesecake Factory in the Burlington Mall (near work) and then stopped at the Nordstrom on the way out.

I got the last pair of 7.5 they had in the store! WOO HOO! Just in time! I would have been sooooo sad if they didn't have my size. She picked up a cute pair of black Cole Haan sandals. What is also wicked cool about Cole Haan shoes is that they all have Nike Air in them! It's like wearing a sneaker, except it's a super cute heel!!!! YEY! and I can tell you these yellow cuties were comfy all day and into the night! Score!

Cole Haan Bright Yellow Patent Leather Heels:

shoes 6-25

2008-06-29T20:39:00.001-04:00

Lace up Marc Jacobs Wedges:

shoes 6-23

2008-06-29T20:28:00.005-04:00

I love these shoes. I try not to wear them too often to keep the white bright and shiny.

Chanel heels:

shoes 6-20

2008-06-29T20:11:00.004-04:00

I love these but I hate them too - because I feel soooo short when I wear them! plus ballet flats look much cuter on, than in a photo.

Jil Sander black leather ballet flats:

shoes 6-19

2008-06-29T20:00:00.007-04:00

These are old, but I still love them. I picked these up one time on a trip to Canada.

Why (Italian designer - I've never really seen them here in the states) retro funky wedge heels:

shoes 6-18

2008-06-29T19:55:00.002-04:00

Hey I even wear comfy flats sometimes!

Kenneth Cole Gentle Souls:

shoes 6-17

2008-06-29T19:46:00.004-04:00

The wedge heels on these shoes are so freaking heavy!

Christian Louboutin red gingham wedges:

shoes 6-16

2008-06-29T19:40:00.004-04:00

Love these - Black Wedge Ferragamo's:

shoes 6-4

2008-06-29T19:26:00.005-04:00

My favorite spring time shoes:

Jimmy Choo hot pink patent leather heels:

shoes 6-3

2008-06-29T19:18:00.002-04:00

A pair of my cheapy shoes, but they are cute and comfy for summer:

BCBGirls:

shoes 6-2

2008-06-29T19:04:00.004-04:00

Super late pulling off pics of shoes from my camera. I kind of miss looking at my shoes. What good are they if I don't get to enjoy them and stare at them a little?

so these are a month late to post.. what can you do. I got lazy.

Kate Spade white kitten heel sandals:

What a Ripoff

2008-06-29T12:29:00.004-04:00

The movies have become. Now I know why I never go.

Last night bf wanted to see Wall E - a cute, but also serious, Disney/Pixar animation. He ordered tickets online for the Fenway theater and all we had to do was pick them up. We get to the theater - the place is a complete madhouse. I don't know what was going on last night or why so many people decided to go out to the theater, but it was the busiest I remember it in a long, long time.

We waited in a huge line to print out our stubs. Which is annoying there should be a kiosk for buy tickets, and a kiosk for print tickets. They had 3 working kiosks, but they all did both tasks. There were huge lines at each and we got stuck behind a couple that decided to look at EACH movie and then see what time it was playing before deciding on a movie. I mean WTF just go up to the counter if you want to do that!!! The counter with actual people was almost empty because everyone was in line trying to use the damn kiosks!

Luckily we had picked the fastest moving line so we only waited ~15 minutes.

We decided to get seats since the theater seemed to be unusually busy. Good thing we did, or we wouldn't have had a seat. The theater was packed. We had to sit in those front rows - way in the front. We luckily got the last row of that row, but it was insane. After we sat down the theater filled up even more. There wasn't an empty seat in the whole place. It was totally insane.

BF then got up to get us some popcorn and a drink. I wanted diet coke - he likes regular so usually we get 2 drinks and everyone is happy. He goes to the counter and they have a 'special' 2 medium sodas and a medium popcorn. Ok he thinks - that seems reasonable. They don't list a price, but he thinks how much can that be? It's a medium right? Well holy shit!!! the 'medium' sodas were 44 oz each!!!! MEDIUM WTF and they wonder why Americans are obese? Who needs 44 oz of soda at 10pm???? Are you kidding me? But wait, there's more!! The fucking popcorn was a GIANT tub. And I mean GIANT - it looked like it could hold 2 gallons of ice cream and that's not an exaggeration. We ate a ton of that stuff and still only ate 1/4 of the bucket. He was so pissed how huge it was. He was expecting a real medium. And the damn thing cost $17!!!!! He was even more pissed. He's like that is not a special value! It's a monstrosity! It was way too much, they should clearly show the sizes and the prices of that stuff. Now perhaps they did and he just didn't notice - I don't know as I was holding the seats.

And then to the parking situation. We have our movie stubs. It's clear we've attended a movie, but they won't give us the movie theater price for parking unless we get our ticket validated - even though we showed him our tickets. I mean really they KNOW everyone is either going to A: not know about the validation or B: forget. so it cost us an additional $15 to park!! And the garage is the most poorly designed garage I've had the displeasure to be stuck in for 45 minutes. There's only one way out, it's really tight in there, hard to park, hard to make turns etc. Then they had one guy taking the money and EVERYONE was arguing about the validation they didn't know about and/or forgot. He refused of course to accept the movie stubs and everyone was arguing. The line was insane to get out of the garage. We didn't move for a good half hour at all. we put the car in park and sat. It was the most insane thing I've ever seen at a movie theater. It was like I was trying to leave Gillette after a Patriots game.

The good part was of course the movie. Very cute. It had fantastic animation and took a hard look at people- who are depicted at fat people on couches watching tv that forgot how to walk or do anything expect watch tv and eat - living on a giant space station because earth is only full of garbage. the only things left on earth are a robot named Wall E who is trying to clean up the garbage and a cockroach that hangs out with him. Eva is a robot probe sent from the space station to find evidence of regrowth of plant life on earth - and Wall E falls in love with her and follows her back to her space station.

Totally Random

2008-06-27T08:38:00.003-04:00

Well not really random - this is what I do for a living but I just cannot get this to work right and I don't know where I'm going wrong.

I want to make an image sprite using CSS. I've created the image I want - which is only an enabled state of a icon, and a disabled state and I want to show one or the other. I cannot get the stupid thing to work right. I found some tutorials on the web, but most of them assume I want to have an icon and a rollover state and that's not what I want. I know I will need javascript to test whether or not the button should be enabled/disabled - that is fine - it's just getting the 2 states to show up correctly I can't get to work.

I know the engineers can figure this out, but as the UI Designer I would like to hand off something that actually works right and they can use it (or not), but at least I got it right. ARGH! Help!

Berryline

2008-06-27T08:07:00.002-04:00

It appears I haven't blogged that much this week, and it's probably because I am now so obsessed with Berryline.

I've been walking down to Harvard Square every single night and getting a fro yo there. I have gone every night this week except last night. It's sooooo good there. Tasty yogurt (that really tastes like yogurt) with fresh strawberries and blueberries on top (there are other choices - I just like the fresh fruit the best).

What is even better about this place? An 8oz. serving is 200 calories, 8 grams of protein, 0 grams of fat and 100% awesome! I'm seriously thinking of replacing a meal with this yogurt - ha ha, but really it's that good.

I may need a 12 step program to stop my addiction.

Fireworks in Somerville

2008-06-27T08:04:00.002-04:00

Anyone see the fireworks last night in Somerville?

I could hear them, but I didn't see them. I'm guessing they are doing it for the 4th of July, but why so early? Why not next Thursday on the 3rd? or on Wednesday or something?

Crazy Weather!

2008-06-24T18:13:00.002-04:00

OMG I left work right at 5 today to try to beat the rain I could hear was coming.

It was very dark and thundering and I could see some lightening, but otherwise it was ok - no rain yet.

I made it to Somerville - basically to Powder House Blvd - and then the sky just opened up. And wow did it open up!! Rain and hail were coming down so hard and so fast my wipers couldn't go fast enough! I couldn't see anything - if someone rain out in front of my car I wouldn't have seen them. It was really scary. I was so close to home though I just wanted to get there -and I didn't know how long the rain would last.

The streets became instantly flooded. like REALLY flooded - giant waves flying up as I drove through the puddles. I was afraid I might get stuck in the water. I hope no one was walking by! Well actually they would have been soaked anyway and getting pegged with hail - guess it wouldn't have mattered that much.

I think those final 3 streets or so to my house took me 15-20 minutes to navigate. Scary!

Once I got home I heard lots of police go by with sirens on and the fire truck across the street went out for 2 calls.

Note to Amazon

2008-06-23T10:15:00.002-04:00

If you want people to shop @ the marketplace, perhaps you would want to encourage your marketplace customers to charge normal shipping rates!! I just removed items from my cart due to excessive shipping costs.

I needed to buy hot rollers for my hair. My hair dresser recommended the Clairol ones. I went down to Target and Bed Bath and Beyond and neither had it, so I figured I was waiting anyway might as well order them online. So I went to amazon and they had the ones I was looking for - great - added them to the cart.

Then I wanted shampoo and conditioner and I figured they may have it - it was worth a shot. Turns out they do carry Keratase shampoo/conditioner (expensive as hell, but works really nice on bio ionic/straightened hair like mine). I use it sparingly and use bumble and bumble creme de coco most of the time. So I add both to my cart and go to check out.

This is where I get shocked - they want $27 freaking dollars to ship 3 small items!! 2 of them little bottles of shampoo/conditioner! Are you kidding me? So I look to see what exactly is going on. Well turns out one marketplace vendor sells the shampoo and charges $12 shipping on a $24 250mL bottle of shampoo. NO THANK YOU! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!

Shipping does not cost 50% of the product - especially when it's that light!

The other marketplace vendor also charges $12 shipping for a $39 product - so about 35% shipping cost. so I quickly removed those items - way to lose business by trying to gouge customers with shipping fees!

I only ordered the rollers through amazon and got my normal free shipping. I will just have to drive to the salon to get the shampoo/conditioner.

Are People REALLY This Stupid??

2008-06-20T19:08:00.005-04:00

Who the hell really believes these bullshit emails?? Who actually give these bozos their bank account information????

I got this email today and laughed so hard I had to share.

First this person claims to be American - yet can't form sentences properly, form normal paragraphs, or spell.

'Good to read from you'? What the hell does that mean?

And what the fuck is 'USA search engine machine directories'? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

Secondly what person in the army has access to 5 million dollars? They have to be smoking crack if they think I believe that one. Oh yea they found it in a barrel and their sergeant said they can have some. Yeaaaaaah.

And trying to prey on people by saying you were shot in war? Disgusting. What a scumbag jackass!

Here's the gem of an email:

Good to read from you,i don't know how you will see this but i need to seek this assistance and hope you will be able to understand my plight i am Sgt stephanie Hizer,an American soldier with Swiss background,serving in the military with the army's 3rd infantry division.With a very desperate need for assistance, I have summed up courage to contact you.I found out about you in a journal "USA search engine machine directories".I am seeking for your kind assistance to move the sum of ( $ 5 million u.s. dollars ) Five million united states dollars to you in other to get this fund secure for both of us. In which i will compensate you, as far as I can be assured that my share will be safe in your care until I complete my service here. This is no stolen money, and there are no dangers involved. Source of money: Some money in various currencies was discovered in barrels at a farmhouse near one of Saddam's old palaces in Tikrit-Iraq during a rescue operation, and it was agreed by staff Col. Kenneth Buff and I that some part of this money be shared among both of us before informing anybody about it since both of us saw the money first. This was quite an illegal thing to do, but I tell you what? No compensation can make up for the risk we have taken with our lives in this hell hole, in which my brother in-law was killed by a road side bomb last week.The above figure was given to me as my share, and to conceal this kind of money became a problem for me, so with the help of a British contact working here and his office enjoy some immunity, I was able to get the package out to a safe location entirely out of trouble spot. he does not know the real contents of the package, and believes that it belongs to a british/american medical doctor who died in a rail accident. I have now found a much secured way of getting the package out of Iraq to a near by city called KL in malaysia close to the forest we live for hideout and was secured under City bank of Malaysia which i spelt to them that the above money belong to a foreigner from USA and was ask to provide some details of the beneficiary for you to pick up the fund, hence why i have to get you contacted for mutual assistance in other to help me with the above matter in this regards. I will discuss this with you when I am sure that you are willing to assist me. I want you to tell me how much you will take from this money for the assistance ,Left to me i will love to share you %20 out of this fund .One passionate appeal I will make to you is not to discuss this matter with anybody since i am still in active services, you should have any reasons to reject this offer, please and please destroy this message as any leakage of this information will be too bad for us soldier's here in Iraq. I do not know how long we will remain here and soonest we are moving to Chad, and i have been shot, wounded and survived two suicide bomb attacks by the special grace of God, this and other reasons i will mention later has prompted me to reach out for help, i honestly want this matter to be resolved immediately, please contact me as soon as possible my only way of communication is via email and after this fund have been secured by you,then we will schedule for a meet up in the state. Kindly reply to my utmost kind gesture in this regards Sgt.Stephanie Hizer God Bless America

Etiquette?

2008-06-20T18:52:00.008-04:00

So what's the etiquette on showing or viewing and apartment and doing the following:

A: Opening up all the closets and leaving them open? Like so my cats could get in and potentially hurt themselves and/or break into the food (to breaking into the food has happened before).

B: Going the bathroom - the bathroom and leaving the seat up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??? Really? Who does this? Who goes the bathroom in someone else's apt when they aren't home and you are viewing it? EWWW now I need to sanitize it - I don't know who was in here!

C: Knocking the key lock thingy off the door and leaving the key exposed so ANYONE could break into the apartment?

D: I forgot this one: knocking over the cat's water dish and leaving the water all over the floor.

I come home and all of the above has happened.

WHAT.THE.FUCK?

It's still my apartment right now - respect it!

Holy Shit

2008-06-19T08:37:00.002-04:00

I don't know what is happening, car accident? But like 4 or 5 cop cars just flew past sounding like they were going 110 mph and had the sirens on the top speed (if that it the right term) - like super loud and the siren seeming to go faster the more they accelerated. Does the siren speed up when they accelerate? Whatever... something is happening in Somerville, wonder if it will make it on the news?

Apartment Realtors

2008-06-18T08:03:00.003-04:00

Ok so I get that I am moving out at the end of July and my management company wants to get this place rental ASAP. I suppose they hope the next tenants won't mind not seeing out their window, paint chipping off walls, or raw plywood covering the bottom of a rotting vanity (all things I didn't see because it was night when I viewed the apt-and they boarded up the vanity while I lived here). Classy.

Another thing I didn't pay much attention to in my lease was that fact that if the management company got a bigger than normal property tax bill for the year - the tenants were all responsible for paying it. Why I pay property tax on a property I don't own is beyond me. But I signed the stupid thing it's my fault. So I got stuck with a $90 tax bill or 2.78% of the entire bill. And apparently each unit has the same % - but I live in a 1 BR, why would I have the same percentage as the 2 or 3BR places? Plus with condos the fees go up the higher the unit - I'm on the 1st floor, I shouldn't pay the same as a 3BR on the top floor! Whatever. It's my mistake for not paying attention to that in the lease.

So apparently they [management company] call some real estate agents to show the apartment. They "claim" they only work with 3 agencies that have many agents, but that isn't true. OR else do you explain the 6 or more different real estate companies that agents have called me from. Granted I get 6-15 calls a day for various agents sometimes 3 from the same company, but there has to be at least 6 rental agencies calling me. Davis Sq something, Inman something , Porter something, Maven and the list goes on.....

But these people are out of control! They are calling me morning, noon and night. They want to show my apt morning, noon and night too! One guy tried to come at 8am 'is that convenient'? UM no it's not even close to convenient! That's when I'm getting ready in the morning! WTF time do they think I leave for work? No day is off limits as they apparently also work Sundays. Some are giving me 4 hours or so notice (which I appreciate), others 1 hour or less.

But now last night a new thing started happening. Agents showing up without calling at all! UM hello! what if I was in the shower or something and they just barge in. She knocks and I answer it and she's like hi I'm blah blah blah I called earlier. I said actually no one called me today, but you can still come in. I have a very reliable iphone with visual voicemail (one of the best inventions ever!) - so I would KNOW if I missed a call or had a voicemail. Nothing. There's no missed call. The only calls I got yesterday were from my brother and my mom.

It also appeared that someone had shown my apartment earlier in the day too (without calling me) because my pantry door was wide open. My cat's food is in there (plus all my dry food) and he could have (and often does if it's left open) ripped open the Indoor cat weight management food and go to town. It's pretty funny he's ripping it open like it's some kind of special treat, when in reality it's diet cat food for the fat thing. He's awesome and cute.... and 20lbs.... so he's on a diet. anyway I always make sure to close the door - because when I have forgotten I regretted it while I cleaned up ripped bag and food. Either that, or Cody got really hungry and figured out how to open the door all the way.

But back to the apartment. I called my management company to say hey can we time box these showings into one or two reasonable hours a day? And they said well the faster it rents the faster you can stop having people come see it. work with the real estate agents to figure out convenient times. Great thanks. This makes me REALLY happy I didn't tell them I wasn't coming back earlier. See in my lease it states I need to give them 60 days notice (which I did), but every year they want to know about 5 months ahead of time if I will renew. They send this letter and say I have 10 days to respond. Um WTF the lease says I need to give 60 days notice - not 5 fucking months!!!!!!!! It's been 3 weeks of daily showings since I told them. I can't even imagine 5 months of showings had I told them back in March when they wanted to know!! Someone rent it so I can have some peace and quiet!

#17 Baby!!!!!!!

2008-06-18T00:39:00.002-04:00

Way to go Celtics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

#17 Baby! Pierce MVP - well deserved!

Rondo had the game of his life. and the team in general had so many 3 pointers. Just a blowout.

If only the Pats had won the Superbowl...... but no matter this is the Celtics day today!!

Um yeaaaaah

2008-06-18T00:35:00.008-04:00

So if you are going to threaten to tow people you should:

A: do it
OR
B: not put a date on the "final warning" note if you aren't going to do anything about it for a week after that notice.

YEAHHHHHHH..............

so my apt building put this final notice on a car last week - and it was still on the car last night when I got home from work.

Clearly a "final" notice 7 days later.

Also when kids deface the brick with chalk perhaps you want to wash it off. OR you can just let it sit there for 3 years like they have done. I think they are waiting till the rain washes it away... oh but it's a covered area..hmmmmmm we'll apparently be waiting a long time for that to go away. The kids that did it probably haven't lived here in years. In case you can't read the text in the image it says "hey fatty" with a bad drawing of a pig.

what happens when

2008-06-17T22:00:00.002-04:00

you fly American Airlines with a brand new bag you bought on the way to the airport:

UM WTF American Airlines? My bag was about 3 hours old when I landed in Toronto and it looked like that. Luckily I had my receipt in my pocket to prove my bag was brand new.. supposedly after much arguing AA claims they will mail me a check for my bag in the exact amount in the next 2 weeks.

Tim Russert

2008-06-15T21:40:00.003-04:00

So shocking and sad.

I have never been a huge fan of politics. I mean I vote and I have opinions, but I am not obsessed like some folks are.

However, I did love watching Meet the Press every Sunday morning at 10:30. I don't think I've missed an episode in years. I really liked Tim Russert. He was the kind of guy you felt you knew. I always felt he was so fair and I really learned quite a bit from the show.

BF once went the bathroom next to him at an airport. He thought about saying hello and introducing himself - because he's always idolized/loved Tim Russert. BF will NOT miss an episode of Meet the Press and he was soo excited to have bumped into him in the airport, but felt it would be strange to introduce oneself in a restroom. Now perhaps he wishes he did anyway.

I was traveling to Toronto when the news broke and missed it until Saturday when we saw him on TV in a place we were having brunch at and realized he had died. I was so shocked and saddened. What a loss to the world. What a loss to the 2008 election. What other Sunday news show ever had a better host? So much personality. So fair.

Luckily I have Tivo, so Meet the Press (like every other Sunday) was already queued up to be recorded. I am watching today's show now. I don't know why exactly it's so upsetting to me since I didn't actually know him - but it really is. Such a tragedy.

Some Days

2008-06-13T10:04:00.004-04:00

Just don't turn out how you planned them at all.

Like Yesterday.

My company was/is hosting a customer conference yesterday and today. Initially I had talked about going but then folks felt it was best not to go because customers aren't happy with the existing UI (I had nothing to do with the existing one - I'm working to overhaul it) and that it may be better to wait and talk to them later. No worries that was fine with me, whenever I can do some usability testing is fine.

So yesterday I figured I had a casual day at work since most people would be at the conference. I got ready, put on jeans, sandals and a casual shirt. Started going to work. At a red light I check the email on my iphone - and it says come down to the conference!!! UM ok.. holy shit... gotta go home and change - I can't meet customers in the outfit I had on.

So back home change into something more business appropriate and off to the conference... Customers were eager to give feedback about the UI and gave me their business cards to contact them for more info.

Then as the day is wrapping up - turns out we are taking a harbor dinner cruise in Boston!! UM ok.. I had no idea. I had pretty high heels that I would have rethought if I knew we would be on a boat!! I was so unprepared!

Turned out to be a fun night and our customers were a good group of people... Well maybe minus the guy that grab my hand and kissed it/slobbered on it... That's a whole other story!!! He kept the night interesting that's for sure.

Apartment

2008-06-12T08:23:00.002-04:00

So as I blogged about earlier I am moving out of my Apt. at the end of July into BF's condo. Calling movers has gotten me quotes that range by almost $1,000! Oy. I think I finally figured out what I am going to do - thanks to reviewers on Yelp (I will be one of them after my move).

I wanted to use Gentle Giant again - I've moved with them before. They were so efficient, friendly, professional etc. They did a great job and disassembled/reassembled furniture so quickly I was amazed. They made it all look so easy. I was really happy with the service I got from them. But I also moved in February 3 years ago, so the price was still a bit high, but since it was non-peak season very reasonable.

This time I'm moving in July - which I guess is peak season. Different days have different rates (which they all have), but theirs goes up A LOT week to week. So if I move the 3rd week in July it's cheaper, but still expensive @ $1200. If I move the 4th week - it gets significantly higher (~$1700), and if I move that 5th and last week - it's off the charts (like 2k+!) to move 1 mile down the road! Holy shit!

So I checked out Yelp and Precision Movers is getting a lot of great reviews lately. I called them up - they are quoting me $600 for the same move. Now THAT'S something I can live with. I'm a little sad not to give repeat business to GG since I had such great service from them the last time, but I just can't see spending $1700+ for a move I can get for $600. I want to take that money I save and decorate my new home! I will see how these other guys do - so far all 5 star reviews on Yelp - it's promising. I know you get what you pay for (as you can see I'm all about crazy expensive footwear), but I get the feeling this other moving company is new and trying to break onto the scene so they have more reasonable prices right now.

It's a gamble, hopefully I bet well.

iTunes follow up

2008-06-12T08:20:00.001-04:00

I will give iTunes customer service credit - they apologized and sent a link to me that initiated a download of the song. Now I'm all set. I love when things work out.

Itunes

2008-06-09T08:56:00.006-04:00

Pisses me off.

First I attempt to download a song with my starbucks card - you know those songs of the week things. Simple enough, right? Wrong. Really wrong. I enter the promo code and it says that I need to upgrade itunes to download the fucking song. UM the normal Tuesday song of the week from itunes doesn't force me to upgrade (I just used it the other day), why does the starbucks one? No matter I will just upgrade no biggie I think... So I click ok upgrade....

It brings me to apple's download page, where I have enter info to get the download. The 2 checkboxes about whether I want Apple to spam me or not are, of course, auto checked. What's irritating is that if I forget to uncheck them I will actually get duplicate emails every Tuesday from Apple about their song of the week. Most weeks I get 2 emails from them on the same day - you'd think they would scrub the data so they aren't emailing the same address twice....

Then the download takes FOREVER! and I'm not kidding. It was a 20 fucking minute install, then a 10 minute rebooot. What in the hell are they installing? Why does it take that long? And I had to close outlook to get it to install too. Why? What the hell is it doing to outlook that it needs those files? And WHY WHY WHY does itunes force me to install quicktime each time and put stupid quicktime icons on my desktop, quickstart bar, AND system tray on startup if that wasn't enough!? I don't want stupid quicktime loading up every time I start my computer. It's totally unnecessary! So then I have to go into my msconfig file to shut off quicktime from auto starting. How many times can I turn that shit off. I don't want it. Not now. Not ever. Stop turning it back on!

Oh but wait as if I couldn't be any more annoyed.. I never got to download the song after that whole fiasco. I had to quit itunes, install for 20 minutes, reboot my machine for 10, wait another 40 minutes for the itunes library to 'update', then I went back to get the song and it never downloaded, I reentered the code and it says I already downloaded it. UM no I didn't. I had to go through a 30 minute upgrade and got screwed because the stupid song never downloaded.

Thanks for nothing but a headache this Monday morning itunes.

been slacking

2008-06-07T12:10:00.007-04:00

On my blog posts this week... I've been trying to organize and start throwing stuff away, donate stuff, and start to pack up my apartment.

What a nightmare. UGH I just have too much shit. And it seems no matter how much I donate (car fulls) and throw out- I still have a lot of stuff. Where did it all come from? When the hell did I get all this shit? The only things I really care about to move are: my furniture, my cd and dvd collection, my clothes and shoes, selected books, and my computer stuff. Oh and my kitchen stuff...

I had my Vogue magazine collection dating back to 2001. I decided it was finally time to part with it. It's too damn heavy, and how often do I really go back and comb throw my Vogue archives? Now I only have the last 3-6 months of magazines and that's it. Much more manageable.

Moving costs are astronomical too! $1000-$2500 depending on which day I move and how long it takes. WTF? I'm moving 1 mile! And my apt landlords are wasting no time showing people the apt. I have one of those stupid lock boxes on the door, which make it impossible to turn the knob to get in and out of my place. And these real estate agents are calling me up the wazzo to show my friggin apartment. No matter when they come it's never really convenient! Not to mention it's just unsettling having people walk through your house and look at all your stuff. Meanwhile my apt. people send a note 'lock up your valuables' yea I do. In my apt! Where else am I supposed to put things that are valuable to me? It's my stuff. It's all valuable in some way.

I wish the apt folks had been this timely in sending plows over in the winter -mostly they sent someone by the time hit 6-12 inches - by that time no one could get into the very steep driveway for hours and had to resort to on street parking. I mean sure it's awesome to have off street parking in Somerville. But it's only good in a snowstorm when they plow the lot in a timely manner so folks can actually GET INTO the lot! Otherwise it's just a mostly empty lot covered in a sheet of ice because they didn't really plow to the asphalt.

I had to wait 4 days to get someone to come out and fix my AC in the summer - all the guy they sent out said was the thermostat is broken, but since it's new we won't replace it - you just have to move to fan/low cool for 20 minutes to let the ice melt on the cooling thingy, then back to high cool again - every few hours. YA thanks a lot that is REALLY FUCKING CONVENIENT!!! Especially when I'm not home....

My bathroom vanity was rotting at the bottom. I called them to ask them to replace the vanity. They came over and ripped out the bottom and just nailed in raw plywood over the rotted section. Great work! Really a superb job. Clearly high class.

I have never been able to see out my windows. I didn't realize this when I looked at the place to move in because I looked at night and the shades were mostly down. Basically the seal or whatever broke on them so they are always filled with condensation in between the two panes of glass. I called and complained when I moved in. They told me the window wasn't broken, the seal broke, there was nothing they could do. Gee thanks. It's great to have windows I can't see anything out of.

Once the front door lock broke on a Friday (maybe Thursday) and they put electrical tape over the lock mechanism so that the front door couldn't lock at all until it was fixed. Then placed a big sign on the door 'please do not remove the tape. lock is broken. lock will be fixed on Monday.' oh that's wicked safe. No only is the door unlocked throughout the entire weekend, but there's a note alerting anyone walking by to this fact!!!!!

But when you move out- shit they can get to that mighty fast! AND they can even do that on the weekend!!!

I really hope...

2008-06-04T15:13:00.008-04:00

That these folks weren't coming out from the Sex and the City movie - that would be blasphemy. I saw them come out of the movie theater after I saw Sex and the City this weekend. Maybe they went to Kung Fu Panda?

UM...... FYI matching outfits == not cool. Not even a *little* cool. In fact it's just plain ridiculous.

And while I'm on it. Those outfits should be illegal. Bright flaming red shorts and matching shirt?? Yeah.. no. Don't even clean your house in this ensemble. Take it off and burn it as soon as possible.

I mean who even buys this kind of thing to begin with? Hey honey while we are out shopping let's buy matching flaming red outfits so we can find each other in whiteout conditions? Let's be sure to always wear them on the same day so we can be matchy matchy together.. ohhhhh and maybe you can skip and hold hands and sing songs too.

Who does this?

2008-06-04T15:03:00.002-04:00

Well apparently this guy does.

I mean WTF. He's in the wrong lane entirely (middle lane instead of the left lane to turn left)... AND he's trying to go when the light is red. Not turning red - completely fucking red! I don't know which offense is worse....

What an idiot.

Weather today

2008-06-04T08:10:00.004-04:00

The weather today sucks. It's supposed to rain all day - ugh. I hate that.

But I think it may thunder in the next 20 minutes or so. Why do I think this? One of my cats absolutely HATES thunder storms. He growls at them (usually 20 min before I even know it's coming) and then he runs into the closet and hides. Well run would be generous. He slinks very slowly and l-o-w to the ground into the closet and will not come out until he is SURE there is no more possibility of thunder.

I was just sitting here checking my email while getting ready for work when he started his angry low growl. He did that a few times. Then he went into the bedroom - to the closet I assume. I don't know how he gets this sense it's coming (or may be coming), but I find it pretty fascinating.

Ahh turns out no thunder, but moving trucks had pulled up to my building. They were packing up the truck and walking up and down the metal walkway into the truck with a 2 wheeler. He didn't like the movers and all the noise. He's such a grumpy old man that cat.